Micro-chip Implants for Indian Elephants
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Micro-chip Implants for Indian Elephants *
06 Oct 2006 05:18:33 GMT
Source: Reuters
MUMBAI, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Elephants in India's financial capital are to
be microchipped to make sure unlicensed pachyderms don't give
authorities a jumbo-sized headache.
"A microchip is like a voter identity card: if an elephant doesn't have
one, we'll know it's in the city illegally," said Sarfaraz Khan, deputy
conservator of forests for Mumbai's Thane district and the driving force
behind the initiative.
Khan said there were just five licenced elephants in the city, but with
owners not reporting their animals to avoid paying fees, animal
activists estimate there could be 15 in Mumbai.
Elephants are considered sacred by the majority of Hindus, and have long
been used to solicit money near temples and on the crowded streets of
India's teeming financial hub.
"Elephants cause huge traffic problems, unload outside shops, and are
trained to scare people who don't give them money," said Khan. "There's
no place in Mumbai for any more of them."
Last month, an elephant died after being hit by a speeding truck on a
busy Mumbai road.