Kerala: Tamed elephants in Kerala to go through fitness test as a compulsory health check-up programme ahead of the festival season. All the elephants above 40 years will be examined thoroughly and without a detailed health check-up, no elephant will be allowed to participate in the annual religious festival, said a government authority.
The fitness test is made compulsory after viewing that the state lost 20 domesticated tuskers this year till July, for which the main reasons were burdening work and providing insufficient food and rest to the elephants.
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Only those tuskers passing the health test will be eligible to participate in the annual religious fairs, where they are customarily used in a big way, an order by the Chief Wildlife Warden said on Monday.
The pachyderms will be examined for their general physical fitness and eyesight besides bacterial infection and bowel movement (technically called ‘impaction’). Also, details of the animal’s vaccination profile will be collected.
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The order also prescribes tests on blood and urine besides examination of health issues, if any. The checkups should be monitored by a forest veterinary surgeon or a district assistant veterinary surgeon along with a veterinary surgeon. The tests should then be certified by an assistant conservator or a forest ranger.
Further, details of the mahout should be recorded. That includes a report on his health status, on whether the elephant obeys his orders and a history of whether the animal has run amok while he was handling it.
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The veterinary surgeon can eventually ready the report, also based on the elephant’s ownership, microchip and insurance certificate besides data book and lab reports.
If the elephant fails the test, its owner should inform the authority about the animal’s non-participation in the upcoming festival season. The official will be the district collector, who is also the president of a committee to monitor the matter.
