The Radhe Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust (RKTEWT) is a Public Charitable Trust registered under the Gujarat Charitable Trust Act, 1950. The objective of the trust is to promote animal welfare by establishing shelters and providing state of art facilities to animals who are rescued, hurt, ill, of advanced age, victims of human-animal conflict, victims of human abuse or are abandoned.
The Trust has received many elephants from donors, such as elephants belonging to circuses, temples and individuals who did not have the financial means to take care of the elephants. Apart from providing care to the elephants, the trust is also providing a better life to the mahouts and their families, who had come along with the elephants.
The request for donation of elephants and their transfer to RKTEWT within the state or their inter-state transfer, all the paperwork required under the provisions laid under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 is in the scope of the donor of the elephants.
The Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) of the donor elephant's State directly seeks the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from CWLW, Gujarat for each transfer. Upon receipt of NOC from the CWLW, Gujarat, permission is issued to the donor for the transport of the elephant by the CWLW of the re spective State.
At no point of time, the Trust is involved in obtaining permission from the Forest Department. However, the Trust provides support in the transportation of animals as and when the owner of the elephants is unable to meet the cost or does not have manpower & resources for the transport of elephants.
The activities carried out by the trust for the welfare of elephants in a scientific manner. The work carried out by the Trust is perhaps the only one of such type in India, which has been recognized and appreciated by the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka recently.