Animal welfare groups seek clarity over transfer of five Assam elephants to Tamil Nadu
You don’t have any Active Subscription.
Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription
Durga, one of the five elephants that was transferred from Assam to Tamil Nadu. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A group of 53 animal welfare, wildlife, and conservation organisations has urged the Tamil Nadu government to examine the ownership, acquisition, and age records of five young elephants transferred from Assam to temples and religious institutions in Tamil Nadu.
In a joint representation to Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay and other authorities, the organisations sought clarity on whether the elephants — Durga, Rupsing, Shiva, Hiralal, and Bijuli — were gifted, purchased or transferred.
They also sought the verification of their birth dates, Ownership Certificates, acquisition documents, no-objection certificates, and identification records.
The groups have raised questions over the chronology of the records, noting that the Ownership Certificates for three elephants were issued only in October-November 2025, despite their recorded dates of birth being several years earlier.
They have also questioned the validity of Rupsing’s Ownership Certificate, which they claim is about seven years old, despite a five-year renewal requirement.
The organisations said they had also been informed that six more young elephants would soon be transported from Assam to Tamil Nadu, and called for such transfers to be paused until the five existing cases are examined.
They have sought an independent veterinary assessment of the elephants following their 3,000-km journey, as well as a scrutiny of their proposed use in temple rituals and processions.
The signatories include People for Cattle in India, Animal Welfare Board-linked groups, wildlife conservation organisations, and animal protection groups from Tamil Nadu, Assam, Karnataka, Keralam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Goa, and Haryana.
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.
