Veterinary specialists inspect ailing temple elephant | The Hindu

A team of the veterinary specialists from the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) on Wednesday inspected Rajeswari, the ailing elephant of the Sugavaneswarar Temple in the city, following the Madras High Court’s nod for its mercy killing. The veterinary specialists comprising Jayathangaraj from the TANUVAS and Vijayakumar and Kumaresan, both attached to the Veterinary and Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal, inspected Rajeswari. Another veterinary specialist Manoharan, attached to the state Forest Department, also inspected the animal on Wednesday.

According to S. Loganathan, Joint Director of Animal Husbandry, the team following the direction of the Madras High Court screened the ailing elephant. The report presented by the team will be given to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR and CE) Department. The next course of action will be taken after this. Meanwhile, a group of Siddha specialists visited the ailing elephant. They said that Siddha treatment could cure the animal. They demanded High Court to reconsider its decision on mercy killing. A large number of devotees continue to visit the animal to enquire about its health. Many young and old shed tears on looking at the pathetic condition of Rajeswari.

The devotees said that they never failed to get the blessings of Rajeswari whenever they visited the temple and could not digest its present condition.