NDTV : Trouble brews over Elephant Polo Cup

November 16, 2006

Trouble brews over Elephant Polo Cup

Rajan Mahan

Thursday, November 16, 2006 (Jaipur):

The Elephant Polo Cup on Saturday in Jaipur was to be a highlight of

the current polo season.

But a petition by animal rights activists claims the jumbos are

trained with ''brutal methods'' that inflict a lot of pain.

Activists say the elephant polo sponsored by Cartier amounts to

commercial exploitation of an endangered species and violates the

Wildlife Act.

" Our big objection is that the elephant is a Schedule 1 animal in

the Wildlife Act and yet the jumbos will be misused for this game

for commercial reasons. This polo violates the law and is very cruel

to elephants, " said Mahendra Singh, Lawyer, People for Animals.

Cruelty to jumbos

Ironically, the Elephant Polo Cup is being organied by Mark Shand,

an elephant expert, and Help In Suffering, an NGO working for animal

welfare in Jaipur.

They say the matches will involve no cruelty to jumbos as there will

be no sticks and no ankushes or the iron prods, which are

traditionally used to control jumbos.

Instead, they claim their aim is to generate funds for the welfare

of Jaipur's jumbos.

" In our elephant polo, no ankushes will be used which cause injuries

to elephants. We have banned nearly 80 per cent of the ankushes

being used in Jaipur. I don't think any other NGO in India has

succeeded in achieving this, " said Shand.

Organisers say targetting them is unfair when 30 elephant polo

matches are held in Rajasthan annually.

P.S: Also log on to the link to watch the video of the report

But critics have even launched a special website to seek a ban on

elephant polo.

Several members of former royal families and even Bollywood stars

are expected to come to the ground for the Elephant Polo Cup. But it

is the off-field tug of war over the treatment of jumbos that is

currently dominating the show.

Recommended Posts