The forest department has intervened to stop a ‘tug of war’competition
between a captive elephant and the public scheduled to be held at
Cheruvady in Kodiyathurpanchayat on Tuesday as part of Onam- Bakrid
celebrations.
The forest department acted after receiving complaints from animal
rights activists including from the Thrissur based Heritage Animal
Task Force (HATF).
The event was organised by the WhatsApp group ‘Nalla Cheruvadikkar’
and was to be held at the Cheruvady mini stadium as part of the Onam-
Bakrid celebrations.
The elephant Kolakkadan Unnikuttan was to engage in a tug of war with public.
With forest authorities telling the organizers that the competition
was illegal, the organizers decided to drop the competition.
In a petition to the state forest department authorities, V K
Venkitachalam, secretary of HATF, said that the competition was
against the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and Prevention of Cruelty
against Animals Act 1960, which specifically state that any
competition between elephant and human beings is a violation of law.
He said that the competition endangered the safety of both the
elephant as well as the public. “Also the organizers have not taken
permission from the district administration or the forest
authorities,” he added.