CNN animal alert: Just say 'no' to elephant polo

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CNN Alerts: animal alert

 

Just say 'no' to elephant polo

11/17/06 04:50 AM, EST

Animal-rights activists in India, on the eve of a controversial

tournament for the elite, have called for the centuries-old sport of

elephant polo to be banned due to what they say is the pain and

suffering it causes the animals.

Read the full story at

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/11/17/elephant.polo.reut/index.html

 

Just say 'no' to elephant polo

 

NEW DELHI, India (Reuters) -- Animal-rights activists in India, on

the eve of a controversial tournament for the elite, have called for

the centuries-old sport of elephant polo to be banned due to what

they say is the pain and suffering it causes the animals.

 

Privileged royals and the rich have been playing the game for

hundreds of years in the desert state of Rajasthan, dotted with the

fading palaces of once powerful royals, and still stage regular

events.

 

But it has no place in a modern India struggling to spread a message

that wildlife must be protected, activists say.

 

" Elephants are endangered animals in India and they should be

respected rather than exposed to cruel and inhuman treatment and made

to play games for other people's entertainment, " said Anuradha

Sawhney of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India

(PETA).

 

This weekend, the Elephant Polo Cup, sponsored by Swiss jeweler

Cartier and co-organized by the brother-in-law of Britain's Prince

Charles, Mark Shand, will be held in Jaipur, Rajasthan's capital.

 

Blue-blooded members of the aristocracy are expected to rub shoulders

with politicians and Bollywood celebrities.

 

A statement by Shand and his co-organizers said they are staging an

alternative to the regular elephant-polo matches which use " ankushes "

or sharp iron prods to control the animals.

 

It also aims to highlight the miserable living conditions of India's

captive elephants, he says, but the event has been attacked by

activists.

 

PETA, backed by leading wildlife groups including the Wildlife

Protection Society of India, has called on Cartier to drop the event,

which will involve 20 of Jaipur's 100 captive elephants, used to

ferry tourists round the city's sights.

 

Animal-rights workers say throughout the year the pachyderms are

treated inhumanely, subjected to beatings and live in confined and

squalid conditions, and the polo matches would add to their suffering.

 

" Our main concern is that elephants are not made to play games and we

would like a complete ban, " Sawhney said.

 

A spokeswoman for Cartier said there was no cruelty involved in the

event with the elephants only asked to amble around a field for 10

minutes. In most matches the animals are goaded to run fast in hot

sun.

 

" The elephants otherwise would be chained, standing in excrement,

lacking exercise and mental stimulation which they need so much, "

said Christine Borgoltz, the firm's director of external relations in

Paris.

 

" The elephants enjoy being together in a wide open space and being

able to stretch their legs. "

 

Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be

published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 

 

 

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