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People for Cattle in India (PFCI) has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Madras High Court seeking to halt the proposed transfer of a baby elephant from Uttarakhand to a Nellaiappar temple in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu.
The PIL was admitted today before the Chief Justice. The Court directed that notices be served to the Forest Departments, the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department, and the Central Government. This action follows reports of plans to move a wild baby elephant into temple captivity. The temple in question had earlier housed elephant Gandhimathi, who died earlier this year after prolonged illness, highlighting serious welfare lapses in captive-elephant management. PFCI has offered to donate a mechanical elephant to this temple, similar to the one recently presented to a temple in Aruppukottai, along with actor Trisha Krishnan, so that rituals can continue without subjecting live elephants to captivity, training, or trauma. Across Tamil Nadu, temple elephants have endured repeated tragedies: Elephant Deivani killed two mahouts after years of isolation and stress. Another elephant, Subbulakshmi*, suffered a horrific death in a fire accident inside a temple shed. And elephant Gandhimathi's slow decline and death underline the systemic neglect in temple care. "Temples can uphold tradition with compassion," said Arun Prasanna, Founder of PFCI. "Bringing a wild calf into captivity for ritual purposes would cause immense suffering and set a dangerous precedent. We urge authorities to adopt humane, modern alternatives like mechanical elephants." Reports from the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) and independent experts repeatedly confirm that temples in Tamil Nadu lack the space, environment, and veterinary care required for elephants' welfare. PFCI calls upon the State and Central Governments to ensure that the baby elephant remains free in its natural habitat--a symbol of both tradition and compassion coexisting in harmony. (ANI)
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