{"id":20069391,"date":"2021-04-05T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-05T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thethirdpole.net\/?p=69391"},"modified":"2021-04-09T19:33:37","modified_gmt":"2021-04-09T14:03:37","slug":"nepal-elephant-ride-operators-illegally-selling-animals-to-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/nature\/nepal-elephant-ride-operators-illegally-selling-animals-to-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Nepal elephant ride operators illegally selling animals to India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Padam does not remember when he began keeping elephants at his hotel. But he says that guests used to pay well for elephant rides in the community forests outside Nepal\u2019s famous Chitwan National Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Padam\u2019s two elephants were kept busy from dawn to dusk until March 2020. But as soon as the Covid-19 pandemic restricted travel worldwide, one of Nepal\u2019s most popular tourist sites was largely deserted. Although the Nepali government has now lifted most travel restrictions, Chitwan hoteliers like Padam are still faced with less than 50% occupancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Captive Asian elephants are used for tourist rides, wedding processions and temple ceremonies. The practice is highly controversial, with campaigners<\/a> attesting the long-lived animals are often taken from the wild and subjected to cruel treatment to make them compliant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February, Padam sold one elephant for NPR 6.5 million (approximately USD 56,000) to a trader in India. He hopes this decision will reduce his hotel\u2019s monthly running costs by at least USD 1,000, which had been spent on the elephant\u2019s food and mahout (keeper).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bishal, another hotelier who leads a cooperative of elephant owners, says the group\u2019s members have sold at least 20 elephants to Indian traders in 2021. They now hold 35 elephants, the lowest number since the cooperative was formed two decades ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n

However, Nepal and India are both signatories to the global Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES<\/a>). Asian elephants are listed on Appendix I<\/a> of the convention, a category for species that are \u201cthreatened with extinction which are or may be affected by trade\u201d. Importing live animals listed on Appendix I (or their parts) for \u201cprimarily commercial purposes\u201d is not allowed so as not to \u201cendanger further their survival\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is CITES?<\/span>

Agreed in 1973 and in effect since 1975, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) aims to ensure that international trade does not lead to the extinction of wild animal or plant species. <\/p>

Species are listed on different appendices depending on their endangered status and the extent to which trade is judged to threaten their survival. <\/p>

International commercial trade in species on Appendix I is banned, while trade in species on Appendix II is allowed with permits that are supposed to attest that the trade will not threaten the species in the wild and the specimens were sourced legally. <\/p>

However, the vast majority of wild animal and plant species \u2013 including many which are traded internationally \u2013 are not listed on CITES Appendices and fall outside the purview of the convention.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

CITES rules state that before Appendix I species can be transported from one country to another, the exporting CITES Scientific Authority must have advised that export will \u201cnot be detrimental to the survival of the species\u201d, while the CITES Management Authority must be satisfied that the animals were legally obtained, after which they may issue an export permit. Meanwhile, the importing country\u2019s Management Authority must issue an import permit, having been satisfied that the animal(s) are \u201cnot to be used for primarily commercial purposes\u201d, and following determination from the Scientific Authority that the import will be \u201cfor purposes which are not detrimental to the survival of the species\u201d and that the recipient of a live animal is \u201csuitably equipped to house and care for it\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to implement CITES, the Nepali government introduced the Act to Regulate and Control International Trade in Endangered Wild Fauna and Flora<\/a> in 2017. It states, \u201cNo person shall purchase, sell, possess, use, plant, rear, captive-breed, transport or import or export or cause to be done so a threatened or vulnerable wild fauna or flora or a specimen thereof.\u201d As defined in the act, \u201cthreatened fauna or flora\u201d are all species included on Appendix I of CITES.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, the government published a set of regulations on how to implement the act. Section 2 of the regulations<\/a> notes that any person wishing to trade in such species or their parts should meet various statutory obligations and obtain a permit from the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no evidence that any of these rules have been followed in the cross-border sale of live elephants. Hari Bhadra Acharya, spokesperson for the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation \u2013 the government agency responsible for implementing the act \u2013 says no one has sought any approval so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/div>
In March 2021, residents protested against illegal trade in elephants near the Chitwan National Park [Image by: Prabesh Shrestha]<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Clearly illegal\u2019 trade<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The ongoing trade is clearly illegal, and the government has a responsibility to stop it, says senior advocate Prakash Mani Sharma. The department has not done anything because it has not been \u201cformally\u201d informed about the trade, says Hari Bhadra Acharya. Nevertheless, he adds, he has heard about these activities, and \u201cneedful action would be taken once the sale is proved\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acharya also says Chitwan National Park officials have been \u201cmade responsible\u201d to look into the issue, but the park\u2019s information officer Lokendra Adhikari says the park has done nothing about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Third Pole<\/a> contacted Chitwan\u2019s chief district officer Prem Lal Lamichhane to ask if he had taken any initiative to stop the trade, two days after reports of an elephant being sold to India appeared on social media<\/a> and one day after the issue was covered in a national media<\/a> outlet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe tried to confirm what\u2019s going on, but we were told that there was nothing unusual,\u201d Lamichhane said. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t confirm the news.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you formulate a law but fail to implement it, it is meaningless.<\/blockquote>Prakash Mani Sharma, senior advocate<\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you formulate a law but fail to implement it, it is meaningless,\u201d said Sharma. \u201cThe state failing to implement it suggests there is a big nexus between the two [the state and the traders]. We are also violating the international law that we are signatory to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lack of records on captive elephants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The 2019 regulations also say any person or business holding an endangered animal captive should register it with the relevant government agency or face confiscation. No one has applied for registration yet, nor has any elephant been confiscated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government does not have any official record of the number of captive elephants in Nepal. A CITES review<\/a> in 2016 put the number at 216, with almost half being under the management of the government and the rest kept by individuals and businesses. Around 80% of privately owned elephants are estimated to be in Sauraha and Amaltari towns outside Chitwan National Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One-quarter<\/p>

Of the captive elephants around Chitwan National Park have been sold to Indian traders in three months<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The park authorities may not have taken any action against the elephant sellers, but last year they did start recording the number of captive elephants in the area. As of late 2020, hoteliers in Sauraha, Amaltari and Kasara owned 65 elephants, according to information officer Adhikari. Hotelier Rishi Tiwari estimates the population at around 80 as of last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This would mean mean that a quarter of all elephants in the area have been sold to Indian traders in the past three months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amir Sadaula, a wildlife veterinarian at the National Trust for Nature Conservation\u2019s Biodiversity Conservation Centre in Chitwan, has been monitoring animal trade for the past five years. He says that to prior to this, he had seen at most three elephants being sold a year, and within Nepal. \u201cPeople sell them whenever they do not give any profits. But in the past, that was not the case,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carol Buckley, founder of the US-based non-profit Elephant Aid International<\/a>, calls this an exodus. \u201cThe pandemic has been going on for a year, but now the market is flooded with buyers. The payment they are offering is inflated and always in cash,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sold into uncertainty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Activists are also worried about the kind of life the elephants will lead in India. Surajan Shrestha, an animal rights activist in Chitwan, notes that in India, \u201ccaptive elephants are used in religious functions and even rallies\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buckley suspects these elephants could be sold over and over again within India or even further afield, maybe again into Nepal. Those selling the elephants now do not know where the animals are being taken. Most Indian traders operate through Nepali middlemen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One middleman from Birgunj, a city near the Indian border, told Padam that the elephant he sold would be taken to the home of a local moneylender. \u201cI believe the elephant can now eat better,\u201d Padam says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome might think it\u2019s a good thing,\u201d states Association Moey, an international NGO that once tried to retire the captive elephants<\/a> of Chitwan into freedom, in a Facebook post. \u201cBut, that only shifts the suffering of elephants elsewhere, away from our eyes. They will endure loneliness, abuse and bad living conditions on a daily basis, in temples, weddings, chained and shown as objects of prestige.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/div>
Animal rights NGO Association Moey has said that this elephant, photographed in Sauraha near Nepal\u2019s Chitwan National Park in March 2021, has been sold to India [Image by: Association Moey]<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Campaigners oppose <\/a>the use of elephants in tourist rides. This has created a schism, says Ashok Ram, a wildlife researcher. \u201cActivists opposing the rides make the hoteliers think they cannot earn from the animal any more. Elephants have been used by humans since ancient days.\u201d Hotelier Bishal argues that laws should be revised to meet the interests of people as well as animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Activists like Carol Buckley and Surajan Shrestha maintain it is inhumane to hold the animals captive for riding or other activities. Shrestha says the government should establish an elephant sanctuary in Chitwan, acquire all the captive elephants and set them free there. He believes the towns could still benefit from the elephants by attracting tourists, thereby generating revenue and promoting the sanctuary as a model conservation project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, oscillating between tour operators and animal rights activists, government spokesperson Hari Bhadra Acharya blames the lockdown forced by Covid-19 for the failure to implement the laws of the land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note: names of some sources have been changed<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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He holds a degree in Chinese Studies and has lived in Beijing and Taipei","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/aronwhite\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/diwakar-pyakurel\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20069391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2772"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20069391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20069391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20069405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20069391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20069391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20069391"},{"taxonomy":"hashtags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtags?post=20069391"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=20069391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}