What are the current welfare standards for captive elephants?

• Legal Framework: Elephants are protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972, but enforcement is weak.
  • The Kerala High Court has issued directions to ensure compliance with the Kerala Captive Elephants (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2012, yet many elephants lack proper ownership documentation, indicating illegal possession.
• Exploitation for Commercial Gain: Captive elephants are often used in religious festivals and tourism, which the Kerala High Court described as “commercial exploitation” devoid of concern for their well-being.
  • This exploitation is exacerbated by the competitive nature of temple festivals where the number of elephants paraded is prioritized over their welfare.
• Physical and Psychological Impact: Captive elephants endure harsh conditions, including inadequate diets, lack of proper medical care, and exposure to stressful environments during festivals.
  • Mortality rates among captive elephants due to these factors is approximately 33% of recorded captive elephants in Kerala died between 2018 and 2024.

What are the Kerala Captive Elephants (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2012? 

• The rules for captive elephants mandate age-based definitions, housing space standards, nutritional requirements (e.g., 250 kg fodder for adults), regular health monitoring, and restrictions on using elephants in the musth.
• A management committee oversees implementation, ensuring welfare through multi-department collaboration, including forestry, veterinary, and animal welfare representatives.

What are the ambiguities in the Captive Elephant (Transfer or Transport) Rules?

The Captive Elephant (Transfer or Transport) Rules, 2024, introduced by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), aim to regulate the movement of captive elephants within and between states in India. However, these rules contain several ambiguities that raise concerns among animal rights activists and experts regarding their potential misuse

• Ambiguity in Transfer Rules: Vague criteria for elephant transfers, such as inadequate care or potential for better maintenance, risk enabling unauthorized sales disguised as legitimate transactions.
• Ownership Transfer Oversight: Shifting application responsibility to the deputy conservator of forests, instead of the CWW, weakens protections and facilitates improper transfers, potentially treating elephants as movable assets.
• Transport Justification Gap: The absence of a requirement to justify temporary interstate transport allows leasing or renting of elephants, further commodifying and jeopardizing their welfare.
• Weak Genetic Profiling: Despite mandates for recording genetic profiles, lax monitoring can enable illegal captures to be misrepresented as legitimate ownership.
• Database Deficiency: The lack of a national database tracking ownership and genetic details of captive elephants hampers regulation and increases the risk of illegal transfers.
• Inadequate Exploitation Safeguards: The rules fail to sufficiently prevent the commercial use of elephants in religious events or entertainment, incentivizing wild captures under false pretences.