The death of a pregnant elephant in the district of Mallapuram in the state of Kerala has been hard to believe by many in the world but this is nothing new in India. Animals are being killed that too in full knowledge of the govt machinery, whether it be the forest dept, animal husbandry dept the environment ministry or the state Govt.
But yes the technique used to kill the pregnant elephant in Mallapuram is a shock to Indians too. Implanting a pineapple into the mouth of the elephant with a bomb in it is indeed very shocking. But she was not the first elephant which got killed in the state of Kerala. The people here are killing elephants for their personal gains. And they are being killed in the most torturous manner. This one somehow got all the media attention which unfortunately other animals and elephants couldn't.
According to the former Union Minister and founder of People for Animals Maneka Gandhi, elephants are being used as private property and the owners buy insurances against them. They torture and kill the animal just to claim the insurance money. Isn't that disgusting? Kerala is the only state which has given permission to make bombs and use them to kill wild boars. Imagine killing wild boars with bombs in pineapple is permissable by the state Govt.
Mrs Gandhi is demanding four quick measures to be taken to stop this mayhem in the state of Kerala:
1 The Supreme Court should order a ban on private ownership of elephants. The elephant should be the property of the govt and not any individual. The case is already pending for past several years in the court.
2 The murderers involved in this crime should be identified and punished immediately
3 The Kerala Govt should cancel the permission it gave to manufacture bombs which are being used to kill wild boars. To hear the entire interview kindly go on the following links:
India Today (English)
https://twitter.com/Manekagandhibjp/status/1268519112814104576?s=20
ABP News (Hindi)
https://www.facebook.com/1904488516479991/posts/2581455872116582/
Through this petition for the past eight months we have seen how human cruelty is happening against the man's best friend that too in big cities like Delhi and Mumbai. In spite of a law which clearly says dogs cannot be killed and relocated people are openly flouting rules, the dogs are daily being killed and relocated. That too in ways which are beyond anyone's imagination.
The Delhi Govt is aware of it and so is the environment ministry at the centre. Several letters have been written to them by caregivers but till date no positive reaction from either side.
The primary goal and objective of the Environment ministry at the centre is to protect and conserve the flaura and fauna of India. But the way they are conducting themselves and the decisions they have taken in the past this aim doesn't seem to be reflected.
Just few days back there was a report of pigs being infected by African swine fever in the state of Assam. The central govt gave orders of culling the pigs but it was the wise and humane Assam Animal Husbandry Minister Atul Bora who said that culling may not be the right option for all the pigs. Hence, he devised a strategy which could save as many innocent lives as possible. For the full report kindly go on the link below:
Few days back the environment ministry declared monkeys as vermin and ordered for their culling in non farm areas in Shimla in the state of Himachal Pradesh for a period of one year. Kindly go on the following link to read about the report:
About a year back in April 2019, 300 blue cows (neel gaye) were killed by the Forest Dept of Vaishali in the state of Bihar. A video also went viral where a live cow was buried alive. To read about the entire report kindly go on the link below:
In November 2018 the Maharashtra Forest Dept ordered the killing of Avni a tigress. She and her cubs died in the most brutal fashion. kindly go on the link to read about Avni's story.
Last month in May 2020 the Environment Ministry at the centre has cleared 30 projects. The projects are for constructing highways, dams and mining in the Dibang valley in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. The valley has a rich green area with a forest having tigers in it. To bring the projects to fruitation lakhs of trees will also have to be felled
Development cannot stop and should not stop but not at the cost of the environment. Roads, Bridges, railway tracks, dams etc have to be made but keeping in mind the ecological balance. If today the monkeys and blue cows are being declared vermin and are being killed it is because man has taken away their homes and their spaces. We take away their homes and then we have the audacity to declare them a threat to our lives and kill them.
And see what we have got in return? Pandemics like COVID 19. Today we have given our kids face masks and if we continue removing the green belt and killing animals then very soon we will give our great grandchildren oxygen cylinders.
While India and the whole world was struggling to cope up with the pandemic the environment ministry was in a rush to get the 30 proposals passed. They got the projects evaluated through digital documents. This is against the supreme court order which says that site inspection is a must for such proposals to be passed.
Around 292 scientist and other conservation professionals have written to the ministry asking them to put a halt to these projects and pass it only after site inspection and after talking to various stake holders. For a detailed report kindly read the article written by Nandini Velho
What happened in the state of Kerala is nothing unusual. Everyday animals are being displaced, killed, tortured and abused in spite of animal welfare laws. The punishment may not be very harsh but at least the laws do exist in India. Then why don't the state Govt and the central Govt implement them?. Why the police watches animal cruelty as a mere spectator? Why should a caregiver beg for his rights to feed a stray? Why isn't he and his furry friends given the protection they are entitled to by law?
Is the Kerala Govt really the main culprit?
Aren't all the state Govts responsible for animal cruelty in their respective states?
Is there any state in India which can proudly say that they have zero tolerance to any form of animal cruelty?
To a very large extent it is the fractured animal policies which are more human centric than animal centric, which are responsible for such apathy and cruelty towards animals India.