POLO POLITICS - A jumbo slanging match

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POLO POLITICS - A jumbo slanging match

 

ANOTHER ELEPHANT polo match in Jaipur. But before the rich and the

royal head for this one, they better be warned: the real match has

already begun. It is being played off the field between the

organisers and animal rights activists.

Animal rights activists and experts across the world are furiously

logging on to www.freewebs.com/elephantpolo, a website launched to

seek a ban on the polo match to be organised by Mark Shand, an

elephant activist and a relative of Camilla Parker, in association

with global watch makers Cartier Inc. The match, titled `The

Alternative Carter Elephant Polo Cup 2006', is scheduled for

November 18 at the Rajasthan Polo Club.

 

The protestors say the event will tarnish India's image as a

country " sensitive to animal rights " . They have written open letters

to the match sponsors and to chief minister Vasundhara Raje. One of

the letters, written by Anuradha Sawhney of People for the Ethical

Treatment of Animals (PETA), wants the government to stop this act

of " immense cruelty " .

 

Speaking to HT Sawhney said, " The organisers are justifying their

actions by claiming that they will not use pointed iron rods to prod

the animals during the game. But what about its use before and after

the match? " When contacted by HT, Shand refused to comment. But

Timmie Kumar of the animal welfare NGO, Help in Suffering (HIS), the

promoters of the event, said PETA was plain jealous. " PETA does not

want a local NGO, HIS, to get international publicity, " Kumar told

HT.

 

PETA-India said that it would target the Cartier group if it did not

stop the match. HT tried to get Cartier's version but event manager

Vaishnavi Communications said the watchmaker had no representative

in India.