scorecardresearch
Friday, March 29, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomeEnvironmentWhat new wildlife bill says & why it has animal rights groups...

What new wildlife bill says & why it has animal rights groups worried about elephants

Experts have raised objections over the clause allowing transfer or transport of a captive elephant for “religious or any purpose” by anybody who has a valid certificate of ownership.

Follow Us :
Text Size:

New Delhi: The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2022, which seeks to regulate or ban the international trade of endangered species, was passed in the Rajya Sabha by voice vote Thursday amid concerns by animal rights groups that it fails to protect elephants and exposes them to more abuse.

The bill, passed by the Lok Sabha on 2 August, was introduced in the Upper House by Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav Wednesday. The current bill is a revised version of the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021, which was introduced in December last year, and was referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee the same month.

Earlier this month, several animal rights organisations, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), had urged members of the Rajya Sabha to include provisions in the bill that prohibit the ‘ownership’ of elephants and their transfer to individuals or religious institutions.

What does the 1972 law say and what does the new bill propose to change? ThePrint explains.


Also Read: Whale ‘waste’, dried seahorses, ivory: Intelligence agency DRI flags rise in illegal wildlife trade


What the law says

The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, provides for the protection of wild animals, birds and plants. It contains provisions prohibiting the hunting of wild animals specified in the schedules, unless the chief wildlife warden believes that an animal has become dangerous to human life or is disabled or diseased beyond recovery. It also provides for protection of specified plants, prohibiting picking or uprooting them, and allows governments to declare areas as sanctuaries. 

The last amendment to the act was made in 2006. The fresh amendments intend to regulate wildlife trade and to implement the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which is an international agreement between governments to regulate international trade in species threatened with extinction. The agreement requires participating countries to regulate trade of the plant and animal specimens listed by it.

The latest amendments proposed to be made to the law seek to increase the protected species as listed in the appendices under CITES.

Keeping with its obligations under CITES, the bill provides for designation of a management authority, which would be empowered to grant export or import permits for trade of specimens.

The bill also provides for designating a scientific authority, which would monitor the export permits granted for the specimens listed in the schedule as well as the actual export of the specimens. The scientific authority can also limit the grant of export specimens of a particular species, if the authority feels that such export needs to be limited to maintain reasonable levels of the species. An export permit would not be granted for certain species unless the scientific authority advises that the export will not be detrimental to the survival of that species.

The bill empowers the central government to regulate or entirely prohibit the import, trade, possession or proliferation of invasive alien species. An invasive alien species is defined as “a species of animal or plant which is not native to India and whose introduction or spread may threaten or adversely impact wildlife or its habitat”.


Also Read: Indian Mouse Deer’s status as ‘Lowest Risk’ is worrying. Look at full picture first


Amendment that has animal rights bodies concerned

The original act categorises elephants as Schedule 1 animals, at par with tigers, but allows them to be held captive legally. In other words, the law prohibits capturing any Schedule 1 animal, irrespective of their wild or captive nature, except in circumstances prescribed under sections 11 and 12, with prior permission of the chief wildlife warden.

Section 11 permits hunting (capturing) if the animal has become dangerous to human life. Section 12 permits capturing of Schedule 1 animals for ‘special purposes’, such as education, scientific research, population management of wildlife without harming any wild animal, collection of specimens for recognized zoos/ museums, and for collection of snake venom for life-saving drugs.

Additionally, commercial trade of elephants is legally prohibited under Section 43(1) of the act, but a clause in section 40 creates an exception allowing the transfer of ownership of elephants with the permission of the chief wildlife warden. However, it is alleged that this provision has been exploited to abuse elephants by trading them in the form of gifts or donations.

The amendment now adds a clause to Section 43 of the act, which regulates the transfer or sale of animals. Section 43 bars people from transferring or selling any captive animal, animal article, trophy or uncured trophyHowever, the amendment adds a clause to this provision, allowing transfer or transport of a captive elephant for “religious or any purpose” by anybody having a valid certificate of ownership, subject to terms and conditions prescribed by the central government. 

Thirteen national and regional animal protection organisations have urged Rajya Sabha members to remove this clause. Experts have also argued that the provision “enlarges scope for exploitation of captive elephants”.

They have asserted that the addition to section 43 carves out additional exceptions allowing for the transfer and transport of captive elephants for ‘religious and other purposes’, beyond the special purposes mentioned under section 12. 

They also point out that the new proposed clause allows elephants to be regulated separately by the central government, unlike other Schedule 1 animals. 


Also Read: How the cheetah, hunting ally of Mughals & ‘vermin’ for British Raj, went extinct in India


Other amendments 

The bill is also being touted as one permitting certain traditional activities of communities living around forest areas. This includes provision for activities such as grazing or movement of livestock, and bona fide use of drinking and household water by local communities.

The original law allows the state governments to declare areas adjacent to national parks and sanctuaries as conservation reserves, for the protection of flora and fauna and their habitats. The amendment now gives this power to the central government as well.

The original law empowers the chief wildlife warden — who is appointed by the state government — to control, manage and maintain all sanctuaries in the state. The amendment adds that the chief warden must act according to the management plans for the sanctuary, which would be prepared in accordance with guidelines issued by the central government.

In case the sanctuary falls under the Scheduled Areas or areas where the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 is applicable, the management plan for such a sanctuary would be prepared after due consultation with the concerned gram sabha.

The bill also proposes to increase the penalties under the act. For general violations, the amendment proposes an increase of the maximum fine to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 25,000 and for violating provisions related to specially protected animals, it increases the fine to at least Rs 25,000 from at least Rs 10,000. 

What the Standing Committee recommended

In a report submitted in Parliament in April this year, the Standing Committee had also taken note of the concerns regarding elephants, and had “strongly” recommended the deletion of the new clause of section 43. The panel had recommended another clause that allowed the central government to lay down additional terms and conditions for transfer or transport of an existing captive elephant for a religious institution. 

“That is why it (the committee) has attempted to strike a careful balance to ensure that age-old traditions are not interfered with while at the same time addressing widespread concerns that nothing should be done to even give an impression that private ownership of elephants and trade in them is going to be encouraged,” the report explained.  

The standing committee had also opined that the bill failed to address “human-animal conflict”. It had then suggested setting up a human-animal conflict advisory committee, headed by the chief wildlife warden. This committee would be tasked with site-specific plans and mitigation strategies, including recommendations on changing cropping patterns.

(Edited by Anumeha Saxena)


Also Read: 70 years after they went extinct, cheetahs return to India in world’s largest conservation trial


 

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular