Hollywood actors Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, who starred in Born Free, had in the letter objected to the Indian government’s move to send a baby elephant from Banerghata sanctuary in Karnataka to Armenia.

Pointing out that it was virtually impossible for the elephant to survive in freezing temperatures, the foundation quoted statistics showing how the practice invariably led to animals perishing in foreign and inimical climates. The ban was among several important decisions taken by Singh at the meeting convened to discuss the recent tiger crisis caused by largescale poaching and mismanagement of reserves.

Sources said the Prime Minister was critical of the functioning of the Union environment ministry and its role in checking the disappearance of big cats from sanctuaries.The meeting began with an impassioned presentation from tiger conservationist Valmik Thapar, who made a strong case for the constitution of a task force on the status of tigers in wildlife parks across the country and a separation of forests and wildlife from the environment ministry.

The Prime Minister will head the proposed task force, which would include forest officials, representatives of civil society and wildlife experts. It would be asked give a report on the current position of Project Tiger and on the status of tigers in wildlife parks, said a PMO official. Singh has also ordered a CBI probe into reports of tiger poaching in Sariska in Rajasthan.

The wildlife board has decided to establish a National Wildlife Crime Prevention and Control Bureau to crack down on rampant poaching in parks such as Sariska and Ranthambore.