PANAJI
The Goa government informed the Bombay High Court at Goa that the process of transfer of three elephants held captive in Goa to the centres for necessary rehabilitation was well underway and one of the three elephants -- Janimani was already transferred while a welfare centre at Jamnagar in Gujarat was also identified for the other two.
Hearing a petition filed by the People for Animals, the High Court expressed satisfaction with the progress and kept the matter for hearing in the second week of October.
When the matter came up for hearing the Advocate General told the court that the elephant, Janimani has already been transferred to the Elephant Care Facility of the Karnataka State Forest Department (ECF) operated in collaboration with the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (WRRC), Karnataka.
The petitioners People for Animals confirmed the position and filed an affidavit expressing satisfaction with the joint coordination of the Goa Forest Department and the WRRC, ensuring a comfortable and safe transfer for Janimani.
With regard to the other two elephants -- Babu and Manik -- the Goa government informed that the process is on to similarly transfer them to Radha Krishna Temple, Elephant Welfare Trust at Jamnagar, Gujarat.
“The process might take about a month or thereabout because such transfer requires permission from the Forest Department of Gujarat Government. Necessary permissions have been applied for and the same are expected at an early date. Once the permission from the Forest Department at Gujarat is obtained, the State will apply to the JMFC at Ponda for permission to transfer the two elephants,” the advocate general told the High Court.
“Since, this is an issue concerning the welfare of the two elephants, we request the JMFC, Ponda, to dispose of such Application, when made, at the earliest. As far as possible, such Application, may be disposed of within three days of its institution so that the transfer of these two elephants is effected smoothly and expeditiously,” the High Court decreed.
The People for Animals had filed a case alleging that the elephants were being held captive at spice farms in Goa and were being used for commercial purposes -- entertaining tourists and were made to live in conditions that were far from ideal.
