What are the new rules for elephant transfer

  • March 25, 2024
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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What are the new rules for elephant transfer

Subject: Environment

Section: Species

Why in the news? The center has notified Captive Elephant (transfer or transport rule) to liberalized conditions under which the elephant may be transferred within or between states

Provision for transfer and transport of elephant under Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) 1972:

  1. As per the WPA 1972, elephants are a Schedule 1 species they cannot be captured and traded under any circumstances
  2. Section 12 of the act allows scheduled animals to be translocated for special purposes like
    1. Education and scientific research
    2. Management of wildlife without harming any wild animal
    3. Collection of Specimen for recognised zoos or museums
  3. Section 40 of WLA 1972 prohibits the acquisition, possession and transfer of captive elephants without written permission of the Chief Wildlife warden of the states

Provisions in updates rule:

  1. Provides relaxation under which captive elephants can change owners or transferred
  2. Intra state transfer,
    1. Elephant health to be ratified by veterinarian
    2. The deputy conservator of the forest has to establish that the animal’s current habitat and prospective habitat are suitable
    3. The chief wildlife warden on receipt of such documents may reject or approve the transfer
  3. Interstate transfer of elephants:
    1. The genetic profile of the elephant has to be registered with the environment ministry
    2. Only the permission of the Chief Wildlife warden of the originating and recipient states permission required (earlier required permission from all states’ Chief Wildlife warden through which elephant passes)

Challenges of new rules:

  • The Wildlife Protection Act is a protective law however new rules provide more relaxation so there is possibility of misuse of it
  • A new amendment in 2021 allows the transfer of elephants for religious or any other purpose, such a broad interpretation could accelerate trafficking and illegal commercial transaction

About Elephants

Asian Elephants:

    • There are three subspecies of Asian elephant which are the Indian, Sumatran and Sri Lankan.
    • The Indian subspecies has the widest range and accounts for the majority of the remaining elephants on the continent.
    • Global Population: Estimated 20,000 to 40,000.
    • IUCN Red List: Endangered.
    • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I.
    • CITES: Appendix I

African Elephants:

    • There are two subspecies of African elephants, the Savanna (or bush) elephant and the Forest elephant.
    • Global Population: Around 4,00,000.
    • IUCN Red List Status:
      • African Savanna Elephant: Endangered.
      • African Forest Elephant: Critically Endangered
    • CITES: Appendix II

Animal Behaviour:

  • Led by a matriarch, elephants are organized into complex social structures of females and calves, while male elephants tend to live in isolation or in small bachelor groups. A single calf is born to a female once every four to five years and after a gestation period of 22 months—the longest of any mammal. Calves are cared for by the entire herd of related females. Female calves may stay with their maternal herd for the rest of their lives, while males leave the herd as they reach puberty. Forest elephants’ social groups differ slightly and may be comprised of only an adult female and her offspring. However, they may congregate in larger groups in forest clearings where resources are more abundant.
  • Elephants need extensive land areas to survive and meet their ecological needs, which includes food, water, and space. On average, an elephant can feed up to 18 hours and consume hundreds of pounds of plant matter in a single day. As a result, as they lose habitat, they often come into conflict with people in competition for resources.

Ecological importance of Elephants

  • They help in dispersal of seeds
  • They help in growth of vegetation in forest

Steps taken by the Government for the conservation of elephants:

  1. Legal measure: Wildlife Protection Act 1972, schedules 1 species so the highest level of protection
  2. Project Elephant: Launched in 1992 as a centrally sponsored scheme to protect the elephant, their habitats, and corridor
  3. Declaration of elephant as national heritage animal of India
  4. International level: Appendix I of CITES and Appendix I of the Convention on Migratory Species
Environment What are the new rules for elephant transfer