Here is a Press Release forwarded to me by Vasuda Wildlife S.O.S., an organization found on PetLvr’s Pet Rescue Links page. If your organization has a press release that you wish to be posted here, please send it to me .. at .. hart (at) PetLvr (dot) com with the subject “Please pass on my Press Release” (I pretty much ignore all other emails that just mention Press Release in the subject line) ..// HART (1-800-HART)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TECHNOLOGY TO HELP REGULATE ILLEGAL TRADE IN CAPTIVE ELEPHANTS 27 ELEPHANTS MICROCHIPPED BY WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT AND WILDLIFE SOS
8th October, 2007, Delhi
In an effort to regulate illegal trafficking, transportation and exploitation of Elephants, 7 captive elephants were microchipped by Wildlife S.O.S under the guidance of Chief Wildlife Warden and Conservator of Forests, Delhi Mr. D.M Shukla, IFS. This marked the culmination of the celebrations of the Wildlife Week celebrations 2007. With this, only four of Delhi¹s captive elephants are now remaining to be microchipped, which are expected to be done within this week.
The Microchipping of these elephants was carried out by the Wildlife S.O.S Veterinarian Dr. S. Kumar, who has an exceptional record of working with Elephants in the state of Assam, Arunachal & Kerala. The documentation
process was completed for each of the seven elephants and its owner by Wildlife inspectors Meena and Negi. Other officers present were Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-Founder, Wildlife S.O.S along with Baiju Raj and Vasudha
Mehta.
Delhi is estimated to have a population of around 31 captive elephants that are used for religious ceremonies, weddings and other public functions in the capital city. These elephants were residing in the Trans-Yamuna area of Delhi for the past many decades. It was only at the end of last year that these elephants and their owners were vacated from the region in view of the preparations for the Commonwealth Games 2010 to be held in Delhi.
Microchipping is a distinctive process of identification and tagging of animals in which a transponder with an unique ID number. The chip which is the size of a rice grain is gently injected under the subcutaneous layer of
the skin of the elephant behind the ear. The microchips each costing Rs 600 imported by Wildlife SOS from the UK have anti-migratory devices. Each microchip has an internationally unique 12 digit identification tag that can
be ascertained only with a specialized microchip reader, a special scanning instrument.
The Wildlife Inspectors of the Delhi Government who supervised the microchipping procedure have instructed the Elephant Owners to get their elephants examined by the Wildlife S.O.S Veterinarian on a periodic basis of any health ailments. ³The Elephant owners are required to submit to us a quarterly Health Certificate duly signed by Wildlife S.O.S veterinarian in order to be able to use their elephants. This will ensure that they don’t subject their animals to unwanted cruelty and exploitation.
Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder, Wildlife S.O.S, “By microchipping the elephants, we can monitor and control the supply, illegal trade and trafficking of captive elephants into and from Delhi from other states of the country. This is a great starting point to prevent exploitation of these gentle giants at the hands of traders and elephant owners who resort to capturing elephant calves from the wild by separating them from their herds.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND PICTURES:
Please Contact:
Vasudha Mehta
Communications Officer
Wildlife S.O.S
Mobile: 09837099719
E-mail: vasudha@wildlifesos.org
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