Animal rights activists have cried foul over the use of “a large number of peacock feathers” at the recent Athachamayam procession in Ernakulam and Mayilattom festival in Thiruvananthapuram, claiming that a public exhibition of the national bird’s tail feathers is a violation of the Wild Life Act.
“A complaint has been registered with the chief wildlife warden who has promised to look into the source of so many fresh feathers. Schedule One of the Act clearly states the tail feathers of the peacock can only be traded for personal collection and small religious purposes,” said V.K. Venkitachalam, secretary of the Elephant Lovers’ Association and Public Interest Forum.
V. Gopinath, chief wildlife warden, while confirming the complaint, said the law did not ban keeping the feathers that were shed by the bird. The activists wanted a probe on the source of such large “fresh feathers” and that the department was looking into this.
D. Rajendran, deputy conservator of forests, disputed the petitioner’s claim that the feathers could have been collected after killing the birds, which is prohibited under the act. “Usually, when the requirement is so high, the feathers are brought from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. There is no provision to book the organisers.”
However, Venkitachalam claimed the law prohibited the “exhibition” of peacock feathers in such large numbers. The act stated that the tail feathers of peacocks should not be used for making any article or displayed in public like what had happened in the procession, he said.