38-year-old elephant seized from marriage hall in Chennai

Chennai: Madras SPCA on Wednesday took possession of a 38-year-old elephant from a marriage reception at Mylapore. SPCA inspectors said there was no proper care for the pachyderm and the animal was seized as per the provisions of the prevention of cruelty against animals Act 1960.

“The female elephant, Rani, was brought to participate in a private function and there were no proper transit documents. A case has been registered against the animal owner and SPCA doctors are attending to the elephant to look into its health parameters,” said T. Thiyagarajan, secretary, SPCA.

According to SPCA sources, seizure of an elephant is rare in Chennai as it requires infrastructure and space to accommodate large animals. This is not the first time that there are complaints against the owner of Rani, we are also tracing the previous complaints against the jumbo owner, he said.

The case would reach the court in a day or two and mostly it will lead to a fine along with the magistrate’s recommendation, sources added.

According to the sources in the chief wildlife warden office, form B is issued for transporting captive elephants from one place to another. Without the permit, no wildlife product or scheduled animal can be transported. Any elephant to be kept by a private owner needs several parameters in place.