Section 5 in The Kerala Captive Elephants (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2003
5. Care of Elephant.
(1)The mahout shall ensure that the elephant gets a thorough bath every day;(2)If the elephant is found sick, injured, unduly stressed or pregnant, the mahout shall report the condition to the owner, who in trun shall consult a Veterinary Doctor for providing treatment expeditiously;(3)Routine examination including parasitic checks shall be carried out regularly and preventive medicines including vaccination be administered at such intervals as may be prescrived by the Veterinary Doctor;(4)The owner shall arrange for medical check-up of the mahout responsible for upkeep of the elephant at least once i two years to ensure that they do not have any diseases, which may infect the elephant;(5)The organizers of festivals where elephants are used shall submit in writing the programmes with details to be station house officer and the Range Officer having jurisdiction over the area, who in turn shall ensure the implementation of the provisions in these rules;(6)The owner shall inform within 24 hours, to the Chief Wildlife Warden or the nearest forest office, the cases of attack of anthrax, rinderpest, hemorrhagic scepticemia, surra or any other contagious diseases and shall follow the instuctions issued by the authorities regarding the treatment of the animal or disposal of the carcass. The Chief Wildlife Warden or an officer authorized by him shall ensure proper veterinary assistance and advice;(7)The owner shall obtain prior permission of the Chief Wildlife Warden or the officer authorized by him before undertaking distortions, sterilization, vasectomy, tubectomy or any other population control measures for the elephant and shall ensure the assistance of a competent veterinary doctor for these measures;(8)The elephant showing symptoms of musth shall be got examined by a Veterinary Doctor;(9)No drugs or intoxicants shall be used to suppress musth except on a written prescription by a Veterinary Doctor;(10)The owner of the elephant shall ensure that in case of musth, the elephant is secured properly and does not become a hazard to the public at large;(11)An elephant in musth shall not be put to any work;(12)NO owner shall put to work, any elephant having pregnancy of 12 months or above, or any cow elephant having a suckling calf of age below 6 months, or any elephant of height below 5 feet;(13)No owner shall permit the use of nylon ropes or chains/hobbles with spikes or sharp edges for tying the elephants;(14)Weight of the chains and hobbles shall commensurate with age and health of the elephant;(15)No owner shall permit any type of harness which may expose the back or other sensitive organs of the elephant to pain and injury;(16)No owner shall permit his elephant to be trained by a trainer who is not approved by the Chief Wildlife Warden or the officer authorized by him for the purpose;(17)The owner shall report within 24 hours, to the chief Wildlife Warden or to the officer authorized by him, the death of an elephant and the tusks, if any, shall be declared within one week to the Chief Wildlife Warden for obtaining Ownership Certificate;(18)The owner shall get the postmortem examination of the elephant done by a veterinary doctor and shall submit the report to the Chief Wildlife Warden or the Officer authorised by him within 15 days of the death.
