The Bihar government has started a census of all elephants in captivity to prevent the capture of wild pachyderms for commercial use, a senior official said on Thursday.
Forest officials in all 38 districts have been asked to prepare an inventory of ownership details, microchip numbers and photographs of elephants in captivity of individuals or government departments. They were also asked to do DNA profiling of the elephants in captivity.
“The census is being conducted as per a recent circular issued by the Union Ministry for Environment, Forests and Climate Change based on a Tripura High Court order on November 7, 2022 asking the Centre to issue necessary directions to end the capture of wild elephants for the purpose of selling the pachyderms,” Bihar Chief Wildlife Warden P K Gupta told PTI.
He said the officials have been asked the complete the exercise at the earliest. Gupta said the officials have been asked to scrutinise the ownership certificates and if the owner does not have such a document, a thorough verification of the history and source of the elephant be carried out before granting a provisional ownership certificate.
The court opined that the transfer or exchange of elephants between two entities should not lead to their commercial use such as labour, participation in parades and ceremonies, tourist safaris, rides, circuses or begging, he added.
