Assam jumbo on 3,000-km trip to make Madurai temple its new home

CHENNAI: A recent ruling by the Madras High Court clarifying on its earlier judgment has paved the way for elephants from another state to enter Tamil Nadu again after nearly five years. Accordingly, five-year-old Durga, owned by Assam resident Punya Pegu, is expected to be the first such elephant as it is expected to arrive at the Meenakshi Amman temple in Madurai from the northeastern state around 3,000 km away on September 14.

Tamil Nadu had, in recent years, adopted a cautious approach against adding elephants to captivity, while tightening regulation of elephants already with temples and private individuals and advocating rehabilitation and rewilding wherever possible. The policy had also meant that requests to bring elephants from outside the state were not entertained.

The change follows the Madras High Court’s September 2 judgment, which held that its 2021 direction against taking elephants into captivity was intended to prevent fresh capture from the wild, and that it did not prohibit transfer or donation of elephants already in captivity. The court also noted that Tamil Nadu’s existing rules regulate such transfers.

A TN forest official told TNIE the department was bound to follow the law, particularly the Captive Elephant (Transfer or Transport) Rules, 2024.

“Every transfer need not be referred to the high-powered committee appointed by the Supreme Court for approval. The matters of dispute are referred to the high-powered committee,” the official said, referring to the ongoing dispute involving nine elephants from Assam already in Tamil Nadu.

Chief Wildlife Warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra said the source and ownership of the elephants had been verified by Assam authorities. “They are captive elephants, owned by individuals,” he said, adding that ownership certificates, microchips and DNA profiling are part of the verification process.

The state forest department’s September 4 communication records proposals for five elephants from Assam – namely Durga, Hiralal, Shiva, Rupsing and Bijuli – to be brought down to Tamil Nadu and directs district-level captive elephant welfare committees to conduct inquiries and physical verification of the proposed facilities. Reports were to be submitted within 15 days.

The speed with which Durga’s case was processed, however, raises questions about the rigour of the scrutiny. The department’s records show that the Madurai facility was inspected on September 4, the same day the chief wildlife warden’s recommendation for Durga’s interstate transfer was issued. The inspection report itself says that routine health checks and fitness could not be recorded at that stage, while the transfer recommendation subsequently required a registered veterinarian to certify that Durga was fit for the long journey.

Stating that the district committees were asked to inspect the proposed facilities at 1.30 pm on September 4, while the transfer communication for Durga was issued at 9 pm the same day, Prakash Sasha of Elsa Foundation told TNIE, “How was the inspection completed, and a report prepared and sent to the chief wildlife warden within seven and a half hours? This raises questions about the genuineness of the process.”

Prakash also raised substantive legal and conservation objections. He said the 2024 transfer rules permit a transfer where the owner is no longer able to maintain the elephant, where the elephant would have better upkeep in the proposed location, or where the Chief Wildlife Warden considers it necessary for better upkeep. “The life of this elephant, from freely roaming in the natural forest, will be transformed into that of an elephant chained 24 hours a day in a small shed in the temple, leading to miserable living conditions. Therefore, this provision is directly violated in this case,” he said.

The department, meanwhile, maintains that the elephants are legally captive, ownership and identity are verified through documentation, microchips and DNA profiling, and that transfers are governed by the 2024 rules.