Ambika Shukla writes to Cartier Inc on 'Elephant Polo'

[Guest guest]

To

Madame Borgoltz,

MD, Cartier Inc

51 Rue Francois Premier 75008

Paris

4-10-06

 

Dear Madame Borgoltz,

 

I do hope this will find its way to you and not be waylaid by a

secretary or other company official. The reason I am addressing this

appeal directly to you is because it takes courage and compassion to

reverse any company decision.

 

You have been told that elephant polo is not a cruel sport and that

elephants are not beaten or ill treated in the course of the game.

This may be so but it ignores the fundamental issue that to be

available to participate in events like these and other tourist

frivolities, elephants continue to be kept in cities like Jaipur

which is

totally inimical to their well being.

 

The elephant is a tropical, shade-loving shy creature whose natural

habitat is the jungle. He lives in a loving family group which cares

for its young and mourns its dead just like us. Contrast this then

with the conditions elephants must endure in modern cities:

Absence of space: Elephants enjoy the space and quiet of the jungle.

In cities they are kept continuously tethered with iron shackles.

Jaipur's some 40 elephants are tethered in narrow, noisy streets

with just room to sit or stand. Here they live till they die

deprived of their natural food, their family and their freedom. This

has been documented on film.

The Ground beneath their feet: Unlike horses and camels which are

shoed, elephants have soft-soled feet just like ours. Imagine the

agony of having to walk on burning city tarmac on naked feet. To go

anywhere in the city, they must walk scores of miles on hard paved

roads, cutting , bruising and burning their feet.

No shade or water: Elephants hate the heat and direct sun. Indian

cities are ferociously hot most of the year with little shade or

vegetation. Elephants are especially ill-suited to the desert state

of Rajasthan and its capital city Jaipur. Here they must endure

temperatures as high as 50 degrees centigrade, dust laden winds that

sting their eyes, and biting cold through the winter nights. Tied in

the street with no foliage cover, they have abolutely no protection

from the elements.

Short, stressful lives: An elephant's natural lifespan is over 100

years. In a city, he is lucky to survive 25. Apart from the hostile

environmental conditions, there are traffic accidents with elephants

frequently being hit by careless truck and lorry drivers. Just

recently when yet another elephant was killed in a traffic accident

in Mumbai, its actors, lawyers and industrialists joined together to

demand that the local government prohibit the use of elephants in

cities.

 

As you can see, a city is no place for an elephant. The only reason

they are here is because of the revenue being earned from exploiting

them mainly for the tourist trade. The more commercial events that

use elephants, the longer they will be forced to remain in miserable

captivity. The less use the city has for them, the quicker the

elephants can find release.

I do not doubt that Cartier would never knowingly associate itself

with cruelty and that the intentions of the organisers are

honourable. However, I am sure that you will now agree that this

proposed Elephant Polo event will do more long-term harm to the

cause of elephants than any short-term goal of raising money for

their welfare can. It will glamourise this hitherto little

patronised 'sport', breed more copy-cat events and make it more

profitable than ever to keep elephants in bondage in cities thereby

perpetuating their terrible suffering.

If the company does want to help India's and particularly Jaipur's

elephants, the best way is not to use them and by publicly

dissociating yourself from this event, highlight the injustice of

keeping elephants in urban areas. That will better promote the

Cartier brand as an intelligent, sensitive, truly progressive

choice.

Please do the right and honourable thing. This is just one of many

promotional events for Cartier, for the few remaining elephants of

India it could be a matter of life or a living death.

 

Counting on your consideration,

 

Sincerely

 

Ambika Shukla

Columnist, The Asian Age Newspaper

New Delhi