DEHRADUN: A wounded elephant, which was part of a travelling circus, has been left behind in the city's Parade Ground after its plight was noticed by animal welfare officials.
The circus which owns the elephant came under the scanner of a team comprising members of People for Animals (PFA), state animal husbandry department and a forest official, after an inspection conducted last Sunday. The team found that the wounded pachyderm was being kept in the open and moreover, during a 'puja' ritual at the beginning of every performance, it was made to sniff vermilion in its trunk and spray it on the circus audience. The circus, which was performing thrice a day, left Dehradun on Wednesday.
The team, formed on the direction of Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) under ministry of environment and forests, raised objection to the cruelty meted out to the animal and also said that sniffing vermilion might give it respiratory problems.
PFA member-secretary Gauri Maulekhi told reporters that the team made a report and submitted it to the chief wildlife warden. "However, SK Sharma, the principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) who happens to hold additional charge of chief wildlife warden (CWW), did not sign the report. The report will be sent to AWBI."
She said the IG, Forests, has written clearly in the report that there should be zero tolerance towards cruelty to animals in the circus.
Maulekhi said the wounded animal was stranded at the Parade Ground as the matter is under enquiry and Sharma cannot issue a transit certificate to transport it to another state. "In such a situation, the poor animal should sent to a rescue centre, which has not been done either. It has just been abandoned," she added.
Sharma, on his part, said the department has no resources to send the pachyderm to a rescue centre, so it will be sent back to the circus.
Meanwhile, Maulekhi demanded a CBI enquiry into an allegation levelled by additional-PCCF SK Dutt against Sharma over not taking cognizance of intelligence reports about 100-odd cases related to poaching, which allegedly led to a spurt in poaching cases across the state.
"The former chief justice of the Uttarakhand High Court, in his judgment on May 15, had directed the chief minister to look into this serious matter urgently. I met the CM yesterday and he assured me that he would give his decision on the matter within a week," she said.
