New Delhi: Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said that the Oscar win for The Elephant Whispers may ‘force’ the Narendra Modi-led central government to drop the ‘elephant-unfriendly’ amendments to the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, despite the fact that Despite that elephants were assigned as a national heritage animal in 2010. “It is wonderful that The Elephant Whisperers has won an Oscar. Perhaps this will compel the Modi government not to go ahead with the widely opposed elephant-unfriendly amendments to the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Was declared a heritage animal,” Jairam Ramesh tweeted.
The Tamil documentary created history by becoming the first Indian production to win in the Documentary Short Subject category at the 95th Academy Awards.
It’s amazing that The Elephant Whisperers has won an Oscar. Perhaps this will compel the Modi government not to go ahead with the widely opposed elephant-unfriendly amendments to the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The elephant was declared a national heritage animal in 2010.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) March 13, 2023
What does ‘elephant-friendly’ mean in the amendment?
Rajya Sabha approved a bill to make changes to the Wild Life Protection Act of 1972. Among other things, the Bill proposes to amend section 43 of the Act to allow a person with a valid certificate of ownership to transfer or transport captive elephants for ‘religious or religious purposes’. any other purpose’.
Concerns have been raised about the wording “any other purpose”, which has been interpreted as potentially encouraging the commercial elephant trade and increasing violence against them.
Wild Life Protection Act, 1972
The government enacted this act as a legal framework for the protection of wild life, plants and birds in order to maintain ecological and environmental security in India. It also includes information on banning hunting to protect the animals. It regulates commerce in both wildlife and products made from it.
The Act is organized into six schedules, each of which lists plants and animals in descending order of protection and monitoring. The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 is a comprehensive framework of previous regulations enacted by the previous British administration following large-scale wildlife extinctions due to hunting.
When the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2022 was passed in the Rajya Sabha in December last year, Ramesh opposed many of its provisions.