Mrudul Godbole
10-03-2011, 03:09 PM
Tirupati temple caught in civet deadlock
G.S. MUDUR
New Delhi, March 9: A search by the Sri Venkateswara Temple, Tirupati, for a supply of the aromatic secretions of the civet has pitted the temple authorities against India’s Wildlife Act, creating a deadlock that officials are trying to resolve.
Temple staff have for decades been adding the secretions from the perineal glands of civets into a mixture of spices and oils and applying it to the temple deity every Friday morning as part of a traditional ritual, temple sources said.
The temple complex used to keep civets in its dairy farm until about five years ago when wildlife officials ordered that the animals be moved to a zoo in Tirupati. The ritual called Punugu Ginni Seva — or civet vessel service — requires a few grams of secretions a week. Staff collect only secretions that have dropped to the ground and do not harm the animals in any way, temple sources said.
The Tirupati zoo now has three civets — an aged male, a young male and a young female. The small number has prompted temple authorities to search for strategies to maintain the supply of the civet’s secretions.
A proposal by the temple authorities to fund a special nocturnal animal facility at the local zoo to breed civets appears to have stalled because the temple wanted a commitment that it would be allowed to harvest the secretions.
“But the demand for civet secretions cannot go on record,” said Kyanam Pradeep, a divisional forest officer attached to the temple complex. “The temple says it is willing to support a breeding centre only if it receives official commitment that it may collect the secretions. The Wildlife Act doesn’t allow us to do this. We have a deadlock,” Pradeep told The Telegraph.
India’s Wildlife Act prohibits the collection, possession or use of products from protected species, even when the products are naturally shed — such as peacock feathers, antlers of deer, or civet secretions.
The proposal involves the creation of a nocturnal animal facility at the Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in Tirupati to house the civets — which are nocturnal and arboreal creatures. The Central Zoological Authority has approved the design of the facility, sources said.
“But our aim is only the conservation and display of animals,” said S. Saravanan, curator at the Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park, which currently houses 75 species of birds, reptiles and mammals. “We will follow the Wildlife Act,” Saravanan said.
Wildlife officials said it would be difficult to carry the proposal in Tirupati forward as long as temple authorities insist that the collection of secretion will be specifically mentioned in the documents relating to the facility.
“The temple is collecting and using civet secretions even now — but if they wish to declare this officially, it is likely to become a problem,” a senior official in the Union environment and forests ministry said.
The perineal gland is located between the anal region and the reproductive organs of male and female civets. Scientists in the past have documented the use of the secretions from these glands in indigenous medicines and perfumes.
In 1999, researchers Francis Xavier and M. Balakrishnan from two universities in Kerala had analysed the secretions of the small Indian civet and suggested that they play a key role in chemical communication between these mammals.
Link - The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Nation | Tirupati temple caught in civet deadlock (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110310/jsp/nation/story_13694013.jsp)
G.S. MUDUR
New Delhi, March 9: A search by the Sri Venkateswara Temple, Tirupati, for a supply of the aromatic secretions of the civet has pitted the temple authorities against India’s Wildlife Act, creating a deadlock that officials are trying to resolve.
Temple staff have for decades been adding the secretions from the perineal glands of civets into a mixture of spices and oils and applying it to the temple deity every Friday morning as part of a traditional ritual, temple sources said.
The temple complex used to keep civets in its dairy farm until about five years ago when wildlife officials ordered that the animals be moved to a zoo in Tirupati. The ritual called Punugu Ginni Seva — or civet vessel service — requires a few grams of secretions a week. Staff collect only secretions that have dropped to the ground and do not harm the animals in any way, temple sources said.
The Tirupati zoo now has three civets — an aged male, a young male and a young female. The small number has prompted temple authorities to search for strategies to maintain the supply of the civet’s secretions.
A proposal by the temple authorities to fund a special nocturnal animal facility at the local zoo to breed civets appears to have stalled because the temple wanted a commitment that it would be allowed to harvest the secretions.
“But the demand for civet secretions cannot go on record,” said Kyanam Pradeep, a divisional forest officer attached to the temple complex. “The temple says it is willing to support a breeding centre only if it receives official commitment that it may collect the secretions. The Wildlife Act doesn’t allow us to do this. We have a deadlock,” Pradeep told The Telegraph.
India’s Wildlife Act prohibits the collection, possession or use of products from protected species, even when the products are naturally shed — such as peacock feathers, antlers of deer, or civet secretions.
The proposal involves the creation of a nocturnal animal facility at the Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in Tirupati to house the civets — which are nocturnal and arboreal creatures. The Central Zoological Authority has approved the design of the facility, sources said.
“But our aim is only the conservation and display of animals,” said S. Saravanan, curator at the Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park, which currently houses 75 species of birds, reptiles and mammals. “We will follow the Wildlife Act,” Saravanan said.
Wildlife officials said it would be difficult to carry the proposal in Tirupati forward as long as temple authorities insist that the collection of secretion will be specifically mentioned in the documents relating to the facility.
“The temple is collecting and using civet secretions even now — but if they wish to declare this officially, it is likely to become a problem,” a senior official in the Union environment and forests ministry said.
The perineal gland is located between the anal region and the reproductive organs of male and female civets. Scientists in the past have documented the use of the secretions from these glands in indigenous medicines and perfumes.
In 1999, researchers Francis Xavier and M. Balakrishnan from two universities in Kerala had analysed the secretions of the small Indian civet and suggested that they play a key role in chemical communication between these mammals.
Link - The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Nation | Tirupati temple caught in civet deadlock (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110310/jsp/nation/story_13694013.jsp)