Court orders police to probe cruelty against elephants used for joyrides in Jaipur's Amber Fort

Jaipur: A Jaipur court has directed the police department to investigate into cruelty against elephants used for providing joy rides at the Amber Fort and submit a report before it.

The court of additional chief metropolitan magistrate has also directed the police to register an FIR against accused involved in animal abuse and cruelty, as per the order copy.

Petitioner Gauri Maulekhi, the trustee of People for Animals, had moved the court seeking relief to the animals under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, stating that nearly 103 elephants at the Amber Fort are being ill-treated and forced to carry load more than the prescribed limits and are suffering from several health problems.

Citing a recent Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) report, a petition was filed.


Hearing the petition on Thursday and looking into the AWBI report, the court ordered to get the matter investigated by the police and file an FIR against accused involved in animal cruelty, the petitioner said.

As per the examination conducted by the AWBI during December 2017 to March 2018 at Hathi Gaon, 19 captive elephants of the 102 elephants were observed to be blind, either unilaterally or bilaterally, rendering them unfit for any work. Ten elephants were found to be suffering from tuberculosis and 28 were found to be above 50 years of age. Moreover, the elephants were found to be under severe psychological distress. The tusks of 47 elephants appeared to have been cut. The elephants were seen carrying loads heavier than 200 kg, the report said.


To read the full article, click on the story title

Court puts cruelty against elephants at Amber Fort under scanner

Police told to probe into abuse of 103 pachyderms at the tourism hotspot

A magistrate’s court in Amber, near here, has directed the police to investigate into cruelty against elephants used as a tourist attraction and for giving joy rides to the visitors to the historic Amber Fort.

Nearly 103 elephants regularly carry tourists up and down a deep slope at the fort built by the erstwhile Kachwaha Rajput rulers.

The court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate has asked the police to register a first information report against the accused involved in animal abuse and cruelty, if a complaint made to it was found valid, and submit a report before it.

The order came on the complaint filed by Gauri Maulekhi, trustee of the People for Animals.

Ms. Maulekhi said nearly 103 elephants at the Amber Fort were being ill-treated and forced to carry load more than the prescribed limits and were suffering from several health problems. They are housed in “Haathi Gaon” concrete , ahousing structure situated four km away. The way the elephants were being treated amounted to an offence under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, according to the complaint.


To read the full article, click on the story title

As 13 captive elephants die in Kerala in 5 months, a debate on animal cruelty – and tougher rules

The death of 13 captive elephants in Kerala in the past five months has sparked a debate on the cruelty shown to these animals – an intrinsic part of the state’s grand temple festival tradition – and prompted a revision of the rules protecting them. The deaths follow 20 captive elephants dying in 2017 and 26 the year before, according to media reports.

On May 2, the state forest department announced that it had revised the Kerala Captive Elephants Management and Maintenance Rules, 2012, and would take strict legal action against those who torture or mistreat the animals.

PK Kesavan, the state’s chief wildlife warden, blamed the deaths this year on careless handling and wilful negligence. “Elephant owners make maximum profits during the festival season but pay scant attention to the well-being of the elephants,” he told Scroll.in. “They do not give adequate food and time for enough rest to them.”

Kesavan explained that elephants are different from other captive animals and require special treatment. “Elephants need huge amount of food and adequate rest,” he said. “Denying them both will badly affect their health.”

According to K Venkitachalam of the Heritage Animal Task Force, a non-governmental organisation in Thrissur, an elephant needs 200 kg of tree leaves and 200 litres of water every day. “Unfortunately, a majority of the captive elephants get less than one-tenth the required quantity because of the festivals,” he said.

A parade of elephants bedecked with ornaments and carrying idols and colourful parasols is a major attraction in Kerala’s temple festivals. By unofficial estimates, more than 500 such temple festivals are held in the state between August and May. The number of elephants used in each festival ranges from five to 120. Thrissur Pooram, considered the biggest temple festival in Kerala, concluded on April 26 and boasted a line-up of 117 elephants.


To read the full article, click on the story title.