Elephant throws off rider during polo match in Sri Lanka

[Guest guest]

" A vet clutched a tranquilizer dart rifle nearby as trainers tried to

control

him with sharp sticks and stones. "

 

This incident clearly goes to show that 'ELEPHANT POLO' is not all that

safe.

Some of the points which the Animal Welfare Board of India and all the

countries who patronize " Elephant Polo' should learn from this incident

before certifying and granting permission to organisers of 'Elephant Polo'

in India and elsewhere are as follows:

 

1. A polo playing elephant is a domesticated wild beast, and there is always

a danger to human lives/ property and also to the animal if at all it

decides to go beserk.

 

2. If 'Elephant Polo' was a sweet game played by words of compassion

according to some elephant experts ( elephants love to play this sport )

then why is there need for " Tranquilizer Darts " , " Sharp Sticks " and "

Stones " in the venue ???

 

4. Since the organisers were geared up with " Tranquilizer darts, sharp

sticks and stones " , means they knew beforehand that there was a strong

chance of elephants going beserk in this wierd sport. Several such incidents

have occured in the past, and they know this very well.

Therefore in case of any loss to human lives I strongly feel that if dragged

to court atleast in India there is a strong chance of filing charges

of *culpable

homicide *or* criminal negligence* against the offenders ( organisers ).

**

Therefore I would like to once again alert all the countries and the

organisers of this DANGEROUS SPORTING EVENT: ELEPHANT POLO, to carefully

think before they ever again try to organise anything as stupid as elephant

polo. You have been getting away by torturing these gentle giants by you

cannot get away easily when HUMAN BEINGS start falling victims of this sport

.....THINK AGAIN !!

 

For more assistance or to educate oneself on why " Elephant Polo " should be

stopped, do check out : www.stopelephantpolo.com

 

Azam Siddiqui

 

 

 

On 2/15/07, wrote:

>

> http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL311967.htm

> Elephant goes wild at polo tournament, takes on minibus

> 15 Feb 2007 10:27:49 GMT

> Source: Reuters

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> By Simon Gardner

>

> GALLE, Sri Lanka, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Eighteen-year-old Abey is

> unpredictable, has a temper and let his side down badly on Thursday when

> he

> lost focus on his polo game in southern Sri Lanka and hospitalised two of

> his team-mates.

>

> The four-tonne elephant threw off his mahout and American rider as the

> island's sixth annual elephant polo tournament got under way, rampaging

> off

> the pitch and crushing the Spanish team's minibus with his head.

>

> " It's not quite what we were expecting, " said boutique hotelier Geoffrey

> Dobbs, who organised the annual Ceylon Elephant Polo Association Bowl to

> help boost upmarket tourism and elephant conservation, as trainers tried

> to

> calm the animal.

>

> " I've been playing for seven years and it has never happened before, " he

> added. " He got confused. Elephants are quite short-sighted, and if there

> are

> sudden movements in front of them, they can sometimes be unpredictable. "

>

> Spectators rushed out of the enclosure next to the ramparts of a historic

> 17th Century Dutch Fort in the southern port town of Galle as Abey

> repeatedly butted the minibus, breaking its windows and wrecking its

> bodywork.

>

> A vet clutched a tranquilizer dart rifle nearby as trainers tried to

> control

> him with sharp sticks and stones.

>

> " I'm not playing again. It's not safe, " said visiting American player

> Courtney Zenz after watching her team-mate thrown from the back of the

> 2.8metre male elephant and dangling in the air, her leg stuck in a

> stirrup.

>

> Elephants are revered in Sri Lanka and used at Buddhist religious

> ceremonies

> and local festivals -- the main day job for most of the polo-playing

> elephants chosen from among 110 domesticated animals across the island.

>

> The rest of the Sri Lanka's 3,500-4,000 elephants are wild, roaming in

> scrub

> jungle and wildlife parks, and officials are striving to tackle a

> human-elephant conflict in rural areas, where farmers shoot dead elephants

> to protect their crops.

>

> In 2006 around 150 elephants were killed and 50 humans were trampled or

> slammed to death as the animals strayed into villages scavenging for food,

> Sri Lanka's Wildlife Department says.

>

> Visiting Thai elephant conservation expert Prasop Tipprasert says putting

> the animals to work can help educate the civilian population and pay for

> costly upkeep, but is not convinced polo is the answer.

>

> " There are many, many ways to conserve elephants, " Tipprasert said. " If

> you

> want to do this kind of thing, they must know each other very, very well.

> You really have to do a long, long preparation. "

>

> Not all players were deterred by Abey's rampage.

>

> Spanish horseback polo player and horse breeder Inigo de Arteaga, the

> Marquis de Tavara from north of Madrid, is used to injuries.

>

> " You can fall any time, it can be an elephant, pony, a horse. Last year I

> broke my wrist. Two years ago I broke two ribs, " he said, looking at the

> remains of his minibus, as the tournament beside the Indian Ocean was

> temporarily called off.

>

> " Doing any sport is always a risk. Let's go surfing. "

> Elephant goes wild at polo tournament, takes on minibus

> 15 Feb 2007 10:27:49 GMT

> Source: Reuters

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