The Karnataka government told the High Court on Tuesday that the elephants proposed to be sent to Madhya Pradesh did not fall under the category of wildlife, as they were trained and captive.

In an affidavit, the government told the court that the elephants were not being sold, but some of them were only being transferred for management of Madhya Pradesh’s tiger reserves. This did not violate the purpose of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, it said during the hearing of a petition by Compassion Unlimited Plus Action, a City-based animal activist forum.