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.


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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.


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Jumbo preparations for Thrissur Pooram

Elephants hold a special place in festivals, particularly in Thrissur Pooram, where more than a hundred captive elephants are paraded each year. The 36-hour-long festival is marked by colourful fireworks, percussion and parading of caparisoned elephants along Thrissur town. Though the Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu devaswom boards have informed that they will ensure proper safety measures and provide enough amenities for the elephants, the concern over its execution poses a question mark.

“For the last few years, with the help of NGOs and cooperative groups, the devaswom boards have been providing the jumbo watermelons, palm leaves, drinking water and wet sacks to bring down the soaring temperature. But the timing of most rituals is between 10 am and 6 pm during which the elephants have to stand under the scorching sun. Also, they get ill-treated by the mahout during the parades,” says Venkitachalam of Heritage Animal Task Force, an animal rights group which has been campaigning against keeping elephants in captivity and parading them.

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