ELEPHANT POLO MATCH IN PROTEST TANGLE

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*ENTERTAINMENT OR EMPATHY? *

 

*Jumbo polo match in protest tangle *

 

 

*Prakash Bhandari | TNN

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*Jaipur: Undeterred by stiff opposition from national and international

animal welfare groups, organisers of an elephant polo match slated for

November 18 at the Rambagh polo ground here have said they would go ahead

with the event.

Elephant Family, a London-based body working for conservation of tuskers

globally, is organising the event in association with a local NGO, Help In

Suffering (HIS), that also works for animal welfare. The organisers said the

event was an attempt to draw attention towards Asian elephants, which are

slaughtered for ivory. HIS has organised the jumbo show to raise funds for

the conservation of elephants and to provide expert veterinary care.

But there is widespread criticism of the event and protesters have

launched a website to mobilise public opinion against it. Anuradha Sawhney,

chief functionary of PETA-India, said the group is opposed to the event as

it is an act of cruelty. The elephants will be forced to entertain at the

cost of physical pain during training as well as the match, the protesters

argued.

The others opposed to the event include executive director of Wildlife

Protection Society of India Belinda Wright; director Zoocheck, Canada, Rob

Laidlaw; Asian Animal Protection Network member John Wedderburn; Animals

Asia Foundation CEO Jill Robinson and elephant expert Dame Daphne Shedlrick.

 

But Mark Shand, founder of Elephant Family and brother-in-law to Charles,

Prince of Wales, said elephant polo has been being played in Jaipur for over

twoand-a-half-decades and the question of cruelty doesn't arise. " The

elephant polo match has been organised to create awareness about the plight

of captive elephants across the country. Those opposing the event have done

little to conserve the animal. They should understand that elephants like to

move in a large area. We have also ensured that ankush, the iron prod used

to control and direct the elephants, is not used during the match,'' Shand

said.

** Timmy Kumar of HIS said the event would take place as scheduled. " The

opposition to the event is baseless and the protestors are ignorant about

the nature of the pachyderm,'' she said, adding that HIS is planning to set

up a sanctuary near Jaipur for the city's old and sick elephants.*