Elephants or Wild Boars: Cruel practice of trapping animals with explosive fruit should stop

New Delhi, June 08: The death of a starving, pregnant elephant in Palakkad allegedly consuming a pineapple stuffed with explosives caused outrage on social media. The jumbo went through unthinkable trauma, stood impassively in a river and died a slow death.

Various theories have shrouded the ghastly death of the elephant. While people are blaming the farmer responsible for the incident, it is important to note that the elephant was an unintended target.

Primary investigations into the death of pregnant elephant in Kerala has found that it may have accidentally consumed a cracker-stuffed fruit, the environment ministry noted.

The government noted that many a times locals resort to an illegal act of planting explosive-filled fruits to repel wild boars from entering plantation farms.

In a series of tweets, the ministry has said that one person has been arrested in the matter. "Primary investigations revealed, the elephant may have accidentally consumed in such fruit."

Ministry is in constant touch with Kerala Govt and has sent them detailed advisory for immediate arrest of culprits & stringent action against any erring official that led to elephant's death," the ministry said.

"As of now, one person has been arrested & efforts are on to nab more individuals who may have participated in this illegal & utterly inhuman act. The @WCCBHQ has also been directed to act on this matter with utmost sense of urgency. #WildlifeProtection," the ministry posted on its official Twitter handle.

So now, it has come to the light that the elephant had strayed into a trap that was intended for wild boars.

Wild boars are a chronic problem to farmers because they tend to destroy crops in their search for food. To avert them, farmers have come up with cruel methods like the explosive-laced traps that claimed the elephant's life.

It's a common practice in most of the Indian states to ward-off the animals. But that does not make this practice less evil and it has to stop at any cost.

The intended target is an elephant or a wild boar, it is an inhumane method of dealing with wildlife.

Moreover, the incident has also shifted the spotlight on cruel practice of 'snaring' - an old practice in India that kills dozens of wild animals every year. Snaring is not new to India, infact, it is rampant in forest adjacent to rural areas. They have been termed the 'silent killers' of India's forests.

A Times of India report noted that 24 tigers and 110 leopards have quietly choked to death in our forests over the last eight years, after getting caught in wire snares possibly set up for wild boar or deer.