Centre notifies rules allowing transfer of ‘captive’ elephants
The Centre has notified a set of rules called the Captive Elephant (Transfer or Transport) Rules, 2024 that liberalise the conditions under which elephants may be transferred within or between States.
The circumstances under which captive elephants can be transferred are when an owner is no longer in a position to maintain the elephant, the elephant will likely have a better upkeep than in the present circumstances or when a State’s Chief Wildlife Warden “deems it fit and proper” in the circumstances of the case for better upkeep of the elephant.
Before a transfer within the State, an elephant’s health has to be ratified by a veterinarian and the Deputy Conservator of Forests must establish that the animal’s current habitat and prospective habitat are suitable. The Chief Wildlife Warden, on receipt of such documents, may reject or approve the transfer.
If the transfer involves moving the elephant outside a State, similar conditions apply. Before a transfer is effected, the “genetic profile” of the elephant has to be registered with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Other conditions – a mahout and an elephant assistant should accompany the animal, a health certificate, a quarantine period before the transfer and more – are also part of the rules.
Until August 2022, the Wildlife Protection Act explicitly prohibited the trade in wildlife including both wild and captive elephants. However, amendments to the Act brought in an exemption that for the first time allowed captive elephants to be moved.
A Parliamentary Committee, led by Congress Rajya Sabha MP, Jairam Ramesh, had recommended the deletion of this exemption clause for elephants. The final version of the amended Act, however, retains the clause.