A distressing report from Kerala has exposed a severe crisis in the welfare of captive elephants, with 20 deaths recorded in just ten months. The Heritage Animal Task Force (HATF), an elephant welfare NGO, filed a formal complaint detailing these fatalities, which occurred between March 2025 and January 2, 2026.
Systemic Failure and Festival Parade Violations
In its complaint to the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) and the Kerala forest department, HATF alleged a near-total collapse of oversight mechanisms. The NGO claims that almost all 14 District Elephant Monitoring Committees (DEMCs) in the state failed to fully implement elephant parade regulations. This failure allowed widespread violations to continue without check.
The most recent casualty highlighted the grim reality. Nelliakkattu Mahadevan, a 39-year-old completely blind elephant, collapsed and died at the Thirunettur Mahadeva Temple during the Makeeram festival of a nearby temple. HATF states that parading blind, injured, and medically unfit elephants between November and May is a routine, yet illegal, practice across Kerala.
Allegations of Collusion and Identity Fraud
V K Venkitachalam, secretary of HATF, made grave accusations about the complicity of authorities. "Many of these violations occur with the tacit support of AWBI-nominated DEMC members, veterinarians, forest officials, and police," he alleged. The complaint also points to a disturbing trend of identity tampering.
"Elephant contractors frequently change names across the data book, microchip certificate and insurance records. The Kerala forest department has taken no action against this," Venkitachalam stated. A prime example was the blind elephant Nelliakkattu Mahadevan, who was previously known as Planthottam Babu and Planthottam Kannan before being handed to his final custodian.
HATF criticized Kerala's unique policy that permits contractors to keep and rent out elephants for festivals without requiring ownership certificates, a practice not allowed in other states.
A List of Young Lives Lost and a Call for Justice
The list of deceased elephants includes several young and middle-aged animals, cutting short decades of their potential lifespan. Among them were:
- Panachery Gajendran (36 years)
- Konark Kannan (36 years)
- Guruvayur Devaswam Gokul (30 years)
- Kiran Nayanankutty (32 years)
- Oottoli Chandhu (27 years)
The tragedy also extended to the very young, with two deaths involving calves aged just one to three years.
Venkitachalam has demanded an immediate, high-level enquiry to identify and prosecute all those responsible for what he terms the torture and killing of elephants in the name of festival celebrations. He stressed that the illegal use of unfit and blind elephants must be stopped without delay to prevent further loss of life.
