ELEPHANT POLO - NEED FOR RE-EVALUATION

[Guest guest]

The note below has been posted on AAPN with the kind permission of

Ms. Suparna Bakshi-Ganguly,(Hon.)President, WRRC & (Hon.)Vice-

President, CUPA

--

 

 

The Duke of Argyll

 

Argyll Estates Office

Cherry Park

Inveraray

Argyll

 

Scotland, UK

PA32 8XE

 

enquiries

 

 

Mr Patrick Ricard

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

 

Pernod Ricard

 

12, Place des Etats-Unis

75783 Paris Cedex-16

France

 

media.relations

 

 

Dear Sirs,

 

We are writing to you on behalf of Compassion Unlimited Plus Action

(CUPA), the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center (WRRC), and the

Asian Elephant Specialist Group (AESG), based in Bangalore in South

India.

 

Based on our on-going work with captive elephants at an all-India

level, we hope to extend arguments as to the many reasons why

elephants should never be made to play Polo. You are free to ask us

for any clarifications, if needed .

 

We would like to bring to your notice that Elephant Polo has never

been an acceptable sport in South Asia .The most ethical and fair

thing to do by these great, wild and beautiful animals is to first

discontinue Polo, as a sporting activity.

 

Recent research and studies in the sub-continent are throwing up

valuable information about elephants in wild and in captivity.

 

It is fairly well-known that harsh intensive and extensive training

is required to make an elephant perform unnatural activities like

painting , playing polo or mouth organ , hit a ball etc. Power

behaviour is necessary to get it to obey commands and perform.

In all cases training methods are invisible and away from the public

eye. It is assumed by the public that training methods are humane.

As more elephants need to be trained for this activity and trainers

vary in their sensitiveness to the animals - methods used for

training and taking care of the animals' needs leads to wide

variation of treatment. Elephants are subjected to torture and great

pain in order to master commands. Unnecessary training for games and

entertainment subject them to further harshness.

 

It is now emerging, through scientific authentication and findings,

that elephants exposed to humans, including their own mahouts, are

prone to diseases like Tuberculosis. A recent pilot Health Survey

done on captive elephants in India ( and presumably in Nepal ) has

revealed that a sizeable number have full blown Tuberculosis.

The disease being contagious and zoonotic as well as expensive to

treat with a long time duration of treatment , does not justify the

exposure of captive elephants to any human beings.

It is known now that trainers and mahouts and elephants are suffering

from Tuberculosis.

It is not only an elephant welfare issue but also a human welfare

issue for developing countries.

 

In a game like Polo, swift movements, stop and go, coordinating with

an object as small as a polo-ball, blocking, turning instantaneously

needs many co-ordinations for a massive and fragile animal, which can

lead to injury and pain.

 

As knowledge of the common public is limited, many things are assumed

by them including happiness of the animals, their body conditions,

their interactions etc. for activities which justifies collecting

funds or publicity.

This aspect is extremely questionable and well known companies and

establishments should be well-advised to desist from patronising

these so-called sports.

 

It has been reinforced that polo activities have been going on for

100 years and should therefore continue.

Based on emerging studies on captive elephant conditions, we are more

enlightened today to ask very fairly, whether the same torture should

be continued into the next century?

 

It is absolutely necessary today to reconsider and evaluate a

basically non-essential, frivolous activity like Polo, keeping in

mind, the health care and welfare needs of elephants.

 

We look forward to hearing from you.

 

Sincerely,

 

Mr. Surendra Varma (Biologist & Researcher - Asian Elephant

Specialist Group)

and

Ms. Suparna Baksi-Ganguly

(Hon.)President, WRRC &

(Hon.)Vice-President, CUPA