New Delhi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday wrote to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, expressing concern that the Captive Elephants (Transport or Transfer) Rules, 2024 notified in March do not effectively prevent capture wild and commercial elephant trade.
In his letter, Ramesh said the Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2022 allowed non-commercial transfer of elephants for "any other purpose", but did not clarify what this phrase means, leaving room for improper use.
"This is no way to treat India's national heritage animal, declared so in 2010," Ramesh wrote in X and urged Yadav to reconsider the Rules in light of these concerns and those raised by various animal welfare organisations.
Ramesh reminded Yadav that during his speech on the Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2022, he had opposed the non-commercial transfer of elephants "for any other purpose".
He said this was contrary to the recommendation of the Standing Committee which examined the bill in detail and which had only supported the exception for "religious" purposes.
"You had assured the House that 'any other purpose' would be clarified in the Rules. Unfortunately, the Rules still do not clarify what 'any other purpose' means. This leaves huge loopholes for misuse," Ramesh wrote.
The Congress leader pointed out that the current Rules do not effectively close routes for both wild capture and trade in captive elephants, especially from the northeast to other parts of India.
He cited recent examples of trade transactions involving elephants from Arunachal Pradesh to Kerala, Odisha and Gujarat, and serious attempts to transfer wild-caught elephants to these states under the pretext of being in captivity or as donations.
Ramesh said these problems are documented and officials are well aware of them.
In his letter, Ramesh said the Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2022 allowed non-commercial transfer of elephants for "any other purpose", but did not clarify what this phrase means, leaving room for improper use.
"This is no way to treat India's national heritage animal, declared so in 2010," Ramesh wrote in X and urged Yadav to reconsider the Rules in light of these concerns and those raised by various animal welfare organisations.
Ramesh reminded Yadav that during his speech on the Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2022, he had opposed the non-commercial transfer of elephants "for any other purpose".
He said this was contrary to the recommendation of the Standing Committee which examined the bill in detail and which had only supported the exception for "religious" purposes.
"You had assured the House that 'any other purpose' would be clarified in the Rules. Unfortunately, the Rules still do not clarify what 'any other purpose' means. This leaves huge loopholes for misuse," Ramesh wrote.
The Congress leader pointed out that the current Rules do not effectively close routes for both wild capture and trade in captive elephants, especially from the northeast to other parts of India.
He cited recent examples of trade transactions involving elephants from Arunachal Pradesh to Kerala, Odisha and Gujarat, and serious attempts to transfer wild-caught elephants to these states under the pretext of being in captivity or as donations.
Ramesh said these problems are documented and officials are well aware of them.
