Draft:Animal Legal Force Integration

Animal Legal Force Integration (ALFI)

Overview

---

Animal Legal Force Integration (ALFI) is an Indian non-governmental organization focused on advancing animal rights through legal action, advocacy, and public education. Based in Kochi, Kerala. It was founded by G.Padmakumar (who is currently the Principal Magistrate in Ernakulam) in 2018. Angels Nair was the first General Secretary. The NGO is striving to wage a legal battle against cruelty towards animals and wildlife.

ALFI works to enforce animal protection laws, raise awareness about animal welfare, and drive policy changes that promote the ethical treatment of animals. Led by General Secretary Angels Nair. The organization addresses animal cruelty and advocates for legal reforms, particularly in cases involving wildlife and captive animals.

Key Focus Areas

---

1. Legal Advocacy for Captive Elephants: ALFI has been particularly vocal in its efforts to address the treatment of captive elephants in Kerala. The organization works to uncover and combat illegal practices in the capture, ownership, and handling of captive elephants, advocating for compliance with India’s wildlife protection laws.
2. Protection of Wildlife: ALFI has raised significant concerns over the illegal capture and training of wild elephants and other animals. The organization has filed legal cases to challenge these practices and push for stricter enforcement of wildlife protection laws.
3. Public Awareness and Education: Through public outreach campaigns and community programs, ALFI educates the public on animal rights issues, including responsible pet ownership and the importance of protecting native wildlife.
4. Policy Reform Advocacy: ALFI collaborates with policymakers to draft and advocate for animal protection policies. The organization emphasizes legal reforms and the establishment of stricter regulations to ensure animal welfare across all sectors.

Notable Campaigns and Legal Actions

---

• Captive Elephants in Kerala: ALFI has worked on cases involving the illegal capture and poor treatment of captive elephants. The organization highlighted the significant decline in Kerala's captive elephant population, attributing it to inhumane practices and insufficient enforcement of wildlife laws.
• Illegal Training of Elephants: ALFI, under Angels Nair’s leadership, challenged several government orders permitting the training of wild elephants, arguing that these practices violate the Indian legal framework for wildlife protection.

Controversial Cases Involving Wildlife Handling: In 2020, ALFI filed a high-profile case against well-known snake handler Vava Suresh, arguing that Suresh’s methods of handling snakes for public entertainment caused harm to the animals... The case attracted public attention and highlighted the organization’s commitment to strict animal welfare standards.

• To obtain licenses, microchips were illegally transplanted from dead captive elephants into illegally trained and smuggled elephants.

• Protecting the wildlife criminals and safeguarding the forest mafia.

• The shrinking of wildlife habitat is caused by unscientific deforestation of forest land for plantations.

• The fund for providing food and water for wild animals is being looted, and no efforts have been taken to provide food and water in the wild ever.

• Elephant calves are abducted from the wild and illegally trained in dark rooms by depriving them of water and food for long days. The poor calves become showpieces to promote tourism and the revenue is looted.

-         A huge corruption of Rs.105 was committed at Kottoor Elephant Rehabilitation Centre in the name of upgrading it to a world-class elephant hospital. No elephant was sent to be treated at the center because there is no facility for it.

-- Since 2014, no one has been punished for the cruelty of captive elephants, and since 2018 for the cruelty of wild elephants.

Movie Shooting Damaged the Forest Land : 'Unda' (ഉണ്ട) film controversy (2019):

ALFI General Secretary Angels Nair has also been involved in legal actions related to environmental protection, such as a case against the producers of the film Unda for causing ecological damage during their filming in a protected forest area​. ( Case Nos.: WP(C) No. 1645/2019, 7107/2020, WA2179/2023 Court: Kerala High Court Petitioner & Pleader: Angels Nair )

Case summary:

Kerala Forest Department gave permission and license for dumping foreign soil and erect sets for shooting a Mammooty starred Malayalam movie ‘Unda.‘ in 2018.

Findings of the High Court:

The Kerala High Court (Justice Shaji P Chali)  directed action against erring forest officials and movie makers, for the environmental damage it caused in Kasargod’s reserve forest Mulleria, where it was shot. As per the petition, the team inflicted damage on the forest’s micro flora and fauna, when they resorted to dumping of gravel that made the area marshy. The Court directed the Central Government to initiate action against the erring officials and the movie company for non-forest activities undertaken by them in the reserve forest area by depositing gravel and damaging the environment, bio-diversity, and flora and fauna, after making due enquiries.

Report submitted by the Union Government Commission:

Accordingly, the Union Government has constituted a four-member commission to investigate and punish the offenders. The commission found no damage in the forest and submitted a report that was clean to protect the offenders. The report contradicted the findings of the High Court and the statement of the director of the movie.

Khalid Rahaman, the movie director, admitted that it was a grave mistake to not conserve the forest during their shoot.^. “I admit that we disturbed the ecosystem while shotting and camping there. This was noticed by a few environmental activists and they filed a genuine case against us,”

Petition Challenging the Union Government Report:

Nair filed a second petition (WPC7107/2021) that challenges the commission's report submitted to the High Court, in which they claim that the commission unreservedly favored the erroneous forest officials and movie company.

The High Court Judge Viju Abraham, ignored all the allegations by Angels and directed the Kerala State government to consider if further conditions have to be issued while granting permission to use forest land non-forest purposes like shooting movies, so as to ensure that no damage is caused to the forest and wildlife.

An appeal against the judgment of Viju Abrham has been filed and is pending with the High Court of Kerala (WA2179/2023)

Petition against Illegal capture and training of two wild elephants:

Angels submitted a plea in the Kerala High Court against the capture of two wild elephants namely  PM2 and PT 7 , alleging that the capture and training were illegal. (Case No.: WP(C) No. 4249/2023). https://indiankanoon.org/doc/105570991/

Case Summary

The Kerala Forest Department tranquilized and kept a wild elephant PM2 (Panthalloor Makhna) in captivity on January 9, 2023 in Wayanad District, Kerala.  Another elephant PT7 (Palakkad Tuskar) had been tranquilised on 22 January 223. The department asserted that these elephants posed a continual danger to the local population.  The mission of the department  was to  transform them to Kumki (trained elephants occupied for ride away and capture another wild elephant)

The plea involving the elephants PM2 and PT7, filed by Angels Nair, addresses the legality of their capture and training by the Kerala Forest Department. The petition argues that the capture of these wild elephants from the forests in Palakkad and Wayanad was illegal and claims that the animals are being trained as 'kumki' elephants. The training is seen as a violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which prohibits certain activities like taming or training wild elephants.

Angels has also alleged that the training measures are cruel as water and food are denied to the elephant to tame it. His plea claims that one of the two captured tuskers had 15 pellet wounds.

Angels’ petition challenges a 2018 government order that permitted such training, arguing that the state lacks the authority to permit this under the Wildlife Act due to amendments made in 1982. Additionally, the plea highlights concern about cruelty, including allegations of denial of food and water, and the use of painful methods to control and tame the elephants. The petitioners are seeking the immediate release of these elephants back into the wild, as well as an investigation into the forest department's practices

"The current human-wildlife conflicts in the entire state are being created by the mismanaged conservation and unscientific degradation and deforestation. Instead of rectifying the failure the department swings according to the vote bank...," the petition alleges.

It has sought directions from the high court to stop training the two tuskers and release them into the wild and quashing the 2018 government order permitting the training and use of 'kumki' elephants.

Besides, it also sought the release, into the wild, of the four tigers in captivity and a probe by the CBI or State Vigilance Department or any other independent agency into the allegedly illegal training of the wild elephants.

Captive elephants in Kerala illegally captured, PIL in HC says, seeks their release

Case Details: Case No.: WP(C) No. 13993/2024 Court: Kerala High Court Petitioner & Pleader: Angels Nair

Angels Nair claims that capturing wild elephants for private, parading, and employment use has always been illegal, with legislation prohibiting it dating back to 1977

In Nair's Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the High Court of Kerala, claiming that many captive elephants in the state were illegally captured. The petition seeks a ban on the training, trading, and possession of these elephants, advocating for their release into the wild following guidelines from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Central Zoo Authority of India (CZAI). Angels argues that the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, which was amended in 1977 to include elephants under Schedule-1, makes it illegal to capture wild elephants for private use. The petition highlights that over 54 percent of the elephants presently in captivity were born after 1977, rendering their capture and taming illegal, excluding elephants in rehabilitation centers, hospitals, and zoos.

Nair alleged that captive elephants endure severe mistreatment by their owners, including deprivation of food and water as part of the training process. Citing information obtained under the Right to Information Act, Angels contends that the captive elephant population in Kerala decreased by 41 percent from 702 in December 2010 to 410 in December 2023. He asserts that very few of these deaths are due to old age.

Additionally, Angels Nair seek an investigation by the CBI or another external agency into the illegal practices surrounding the training, trading, transportation, and possession of captive elephants.

Legal Action

A bench comprising Chief Justice A J Desai and Justice V G Arun has issued notices to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, and the Kerala government, requesting their responses. The matter is scheduled for further consideration on June 13, 2024. No reply has been submitted by the center or state until the end of October.

The Kerala High Court has sought the Centre and state government to provide their stance on a PIL alleging the illegal capture of elephants in Kerala for captivity. The PIL, which also seeks a prohibition on their training, trading, parading, and possession, was filed by animal rights activist Angels Nair.

Leopard Calves Kidnapped by the Kerala Forest Department

Case Details: Case No.: WP(C) No. 4366/2022, WA 1311/2023, Court: Kerala High Court, Petitioner & Pleader: Angels NairSupreme Court: SLP 17809/24 Petitioner: Angels Nair. Advocate:  Avadh Kaushik

The case involving Angels Nair's leopard petition stems from an incident in January 2022, when a mother leopard gave birth to two cubs inside an uninhabited house in Ummini Village, Palakkad, Kerala. A newspaper report titled "Get nod to shoot leopard if needed" in Times of India on 21 January 2022 highlighted this situation, prompting Angels, to file a writ petition.

Case Summary:

Angels’ petition argued that forest officials’ removal of the cubs violated the National Tiger Conservation Authority's (NTCA) Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The cubs were reportedly taken from the location without proper adherence to protocol, which Angels claimed led to the mother leopard posing a threat to the local community while searching for her cubs

Judgment:

The Kerala High Court dismissed the concerns, stating that the forest officials acted to prevent potential harm to the cubs from people gathered at the scene. The court concluded that there was no evidence of illegal hunting or violations under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. It also noted that the mother leopard eventually returned to the wild with one cub, and the situation was resolved without further conflict.

Appeal:

Angels appealed against the verdict in the Kerala High Court Division Bench. He has submitted video footage of the leopard calves stolen by the forest officials. He has challenged the judgment stating that “..as regards the allegation that the leopard cubs were removed from the spot without following the protocol, I find merit in the submission that the ground situation warranted such action, since the officials sensed that the cubs would be harmed by the people assembled at the spot.”

Angels pleaded that the people were stayed at home in fear and panic, nobody dared to come out from home because the presence of the mother leopard would harm them as like as people feared approaching a delivered mother dog and cups

In the appeal case of WA NO. 1311 OF 2023, the Kerala High Court addressed concerns raised by Angels Nair regarding the Forest Department’s actions in taking two leopard cubs. Angels alleged a violation of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). The Division Bench, comprising Justice A Muhamed Mustaque and Justice Shoba Annamma Eapen, found no evidence of violation but emphasized the mandatory adherence to SOP and the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972,  while handling wild animals in human habitats.

Arguments from Both Sides:

The appellant approached the court based on a newspaper report claiming that the Forest Department took leopard cubs away, causing distress to the mother leopard and posing a threat to villagers. The Forest Department argued that they acted to protect the cubs from potential harm by villagers, providing medical care and following standard protocols. The single judge’s order noted the Forest Department’s efforts to save the cubs and dismissed the writ petition.

Court’s Judgment:

The division bench supported the Forest Department’s actions, emphasizing their commitment to SOP and wildlife protection laws. Acknowledging the unfortunate loss of one cub despite rescue efforts, the court highlighted the training provided to forest officials on wildlife rescue and rehabilitation. It held that forest officials diligently followed standard protocols and SOP, ultimately disposing of the writ petition. The judgment underscores the necessity for forest officials to strictly adhere to SOP when dealing with wild animals in human habitats

Judgment:

The judgment stated that ‘after consideration of the issue, the learned Single Judge found that the cubs were removed from the spot since the ground situation warranted such action on the apprehension that the cubs would be harmed by the people assembled at the spot. It was observed that attempts were made to save the lives of the cubs and the materials do not indicate that the officials have committed hunting or any other offense under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

According to Angels Nair, the court conspired with the wildlife offenders. The judge disregarded the video evidence of the leopard calves being stolen when it was shown in court. The department was unable to provide any proof that anyone had gathered. The court pretended to believe a false narrative in order to protect the offenders.

• Incident that a snake rescuer forced python to spit out two chicken by stamping cruelly on its belly.

• Poster urges by Kerala Animal Husbandry Department  ‘Do not feed water and food for stray dogs’ (WPC 13204/2021) High Court of Kerala

• Cruelty in ‘Animal Birth Control Program’ under the Government of Kerala (WPC 13204/2021)– High Court of Kerala

• The suffering of the three-year-chained temple elephant "Sasthamkotta Neelakandan" (Case No: DBP99/2018)

• In addition to cruelty, the Kottoor Elephant Rehabilitation Center has corruption of Rs. 105 crore.(DBP 99/2018)

Atrocity against Poor Lady Feeding Stray Dogs

A poor lady feeding and caring stray dogs facing regular threat from the people and government office in Pathanamthitta. ALFI team reached the local body office to enquire the matter a number of people with the assistance of panchayath officials attacked our general secretary and the lady. Police hesitated to register any complaint because the accused have high political influence. The single bench of High Court ordered to register the complaint and take action against the erring police officers for not registering the case.

This incident lead to a case against Inaction of Police Department (Case No: WPC 14089/2000 High Court of Kerala) and Vexatious litigations in Munsif Courts- ( CC 23538/2000, CC 14253/2000) and in High Court of Kerala.

Slaughtering camels

Slaughtering camel case: Some people brought a camel from Rajastan to Malappuram to slaughter it. ALFI protested it on the ground of Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 2015. Though the case didn’t attain the goal due to lack of witness, camel slaughtering attempt never occurred in Kerala after the case.  (CC 866/2019) – Magistrate Court, Manjeri, Malappuram

Dog Dragged behind Car

A dog tied up behind a car and dragged through public road for abandoning. This was a sensational case. The police slapped under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act-1960 to wash off the public. ALFI team have found out in the First Investigation Report, that the fine was only Rs. 50/- only. Then the team have approached Magistrate court against the police department, demanded an attempt to kill the dog, in which the punishment would be upto 5 years imprisonment. The magistrate dismissed both petition, so ALFI had  approached the High Court for appeal. The police department submitted a statement in the court that they may charged all the 9 sections of law which Angels Nair demanded. Against Rupees Fifty punishment for a man dragged dog  behind his  car (Cr. RP 218/2021) – High Court of Kerala. Case Number (CC 1555/2000, - Magistrate Court, Aluva, Ernakulam

Against Rupees Fifty punishment for a man dragged dog  behind his  car (Cr. RP 218/2021) – High Court of Kerala.

Case against a person who skinned a chicken alive  Kollenkodu Police Station, Tamil Nadu

Speaking Cat

False claim about a speaking cat at Palluruthi, Kochi. Animal legal force argued some sounds were produced due to squeezing the cat.

Fishing Competition

In connection with a celebration at Varappuzha, Ernakulam District, a fishing competition was announced with cash prize. ALFI gained a ban for this by Superintendent  of police on the grounds of Moral ethics that such a competition or recreation is uncivilized rather than fishing for food or livelihood. Such competitions grow deviant outlook in youth.

Caged Eagle Case

Brahminy Kite was caged by a government servant in Piravom and at knowing this ALFI lodged complained against him at Forest Range Office, Kothamangalam and the Eagle got released.

Photo shoot with diseased elephant

When a  known wild elephant in Kerala, Thannner Komban dead, some forest officials had unofficial photo shoot with the elephant’s dead body, Vayanad DFO also participated in that. ALFI raised complaint that photo shoot was quiet violation of rule.

Controversies

---

In a media interview, Angels claimed that Vava Suresh lacked any knowledge of snake anatomy and that 99% of the snakes may have died from kidney failure,  which caused Vava Suresh's fans to endure severe bullying and social media attacks.

The High Court of Kerala is currently considering a petition against Vava Suresh for forcing a python to regurgitate its prey for a public display.

When wild boars became a menace for the farmers living in the forest fringe area, the Kerala Forest Minister A.K.  Saseendran met with Central Forest Minister Bhupendar Yadav for an order to declare wild boars as vermin. Angels stated that ‘if you kill wild boar, leopard will eat you’ made a vide criticism against him. However environmentalists contextually supported Angels’ statement based on food chain.

The words and languages of Angels are always uncharitable without due respect which brought rigorous criticism. He addresses ‘Jungle Minister’ instead of Forest Minister.   Put the jungle minister in a cage in the Thiruvananthapuram zoo which will attract tourists'.

Angels statement 'I am not an animal lover' strangely made headlines in visual media at a time when he was facing a lot of controversies and criticism. He clarified that when a road accident involves an animal he leaves off the animal but pursues the driver who hit it.  He leaves off the hit animal and concentrates on giving maximum legal implications on the faulty driver, to reduce such crimes.

In a Media One channel debate, the anchor asked how to escape from a dog attack when the children goes to school. His answer was to give Parle G a biscuit to control the dogs. It made huge trolls and laughter at the time.

Impact of ALFIs interventions

---

Through its litigation efforts, public advocacy, and educational outreach, Animal Legal Force Integration has raised awareness on the importance of animal welfare and significantly influenced the conversation around animal rights in India. The organization’s focus on legal intervention and policy change has helped reshape public perception and bring about meaningful dialogue on the treatment of captive and wild animals.

• Since 2014, the Kerala Fire Force refrained from rescuing cats and dogs due to an order from Chief Secretary Nalini Netto. In 2019, dogs and kittens began to be rescued as a result of the intervention of Angels through RTI.

• Children and the wider public learned about animal and wildlife laws, needs, and rights.

• The media has brought attention to the mistreatment of captive elephants, and there has been a slight decrease in such cruelty.

• The forest department's mission to rescue wild elephant calves aims to boost tourism by kidnapping the animals.

• The social community recognizes stray dog feeders, and the media frequently reports on them too.

• There has been a significant decline in public anger and the mass killing of stray dogs in Kerala, with the exception of a few local incidents.

• Minor animal cruelty turns into a state-wide news story that attracts the most viewers compared to cruelty against humans.

• Wildlife laws were conveyed in literature and television shows, and half of the people in Kerala became well-educated about them.

•  A significant contribution has been made to licensing and training for snake rescuers, which is the first in India.

• Animals have been recognized as having legal and constitutional rights through a common concept that has been established.

•  The illegal capture and training of wild elephants in Kerala has been permanently stopped.

Notable Campaigns

---

1. Free  Captive Elephants

2. Stop Wildlife Crimes

3. Stray dogs have a right to live

4. The Kerala Forest Department advocates for and shields wildlife crime.

See Also

---

• Animal rights in India
• Wildlife Protection Act of India
• List of animal rights organizations

References

https://youtu.be/p1CrXigmHUk?si=9-9MW-7tIL99N8uv