Elephant tusks seized in various theft and poaching cases and held by the Forest Department were destroyed by burning at the incineration centre in Gummidipoondi, in compliance with directions issued by the Madras High Court.
The tusks, which had been preserved at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur, were ordered to be disposed of by a special bench hearing forest and wildlife conservation matters. The bench, comprising Justices N. Sathishkumar and D. Bharatha Chakravarthy, had earlier directed the Forest Department to submit a detailed report on the tusks in its custody.
The court instructed that all tusks be photographed and videographed, with their height, weight and circumference recorded. It further ordered that only small sample pieces be retained for DNA analysis to establish the identity of the elephants, while the remaining portions be completely destroyed through incineration.
During a subsequent hearing, the Forest Department informed the court that it was in possession of 233 elephant tusks. The judges then directed that the destruction process be carried out at the Gummidipoondi incineration facility.
Senior advocates, forest officials, local revenue authorities and panchayat representatives were present during the process, as directed by the court. Forest officials said the tusks are being destroyed in phases, as it is not feasible to incinerate all of them at once.
