The Madras High Court on Friday said the number of elephants in captivity in the State appears to be much more than what can be ignored. It lamented human habitations coming up along traditional elephant corridors and hoped that the Environment and the Forest department personnel would put their best foot forward to not allow even an inch of forestland to be “desecrated”, besides endeavouring to restore old corridors as well.
Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy said: “There appear to be many elephants in captivity in the State, whether in connection with temples or being used as beasts of burden by their human captors or even in official duties. While some elephants may be used by forest officials for the general maintenance of the forest and to traverse the length and breadth of the forest to assist other habitants there, the number of elephants in captivity in the State appears to be much more than what may be ignored.”
The observations were made while disposing of a PIL petition filed by a Chennai-based animal lover T. Murugavel, through his counsel R. Srinivas, seeking a direction to the Forest department to desist from capturing a 40-year-old male elephant Rivaldo from the Sigur region which was part of a buffer zone of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Nilgiris district.
