New AVMA elephant standards may help the working elephants of India

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2008:

 

 

New AVMA elephant standards may help the working elephants of India

 

SCHAUMBURG, THRISSUR, BANGALORE--Far from India, and

perhaps not even thinking of Indian temple elephants, the American

Veterinary Medical Association executive board on April 12, 2008

issued a new policy on the humane treatment and handling of elephants

which may eventually influence the care of more working elephants in

India than the entire elephant population of the United States.

" Elephant handlers and veterinarians generally use two tools

in handling and training elephants, tethers to restrict movement

temporarily, and a shaft with a blunt hook near one end known as a

guide, " explained a May 6, 2008 AVMA press release.

The " guide, " in India, is called an ankus, and in the U.S.

is more commonly called an elephant hook.

" Elephant guides are husbandry tools that consist of a shaft

capped by one straight and one curved end, " states the new AVMA

policy. " The ends are blunt and tapered, and are used to touch

parts of the elephant's body as a cue to elicit specific actions or

behaviors, with the handler exerting very little pressure. The ends

should contact but not tear or penetrate the skin. The AVMA condemns

the use of guides to puncture, lacerate, strike or inflict harm

upon an elephant.

" Tethers provide a means to temporarily limit an elephant's

movement for elephant or human safety and well-being, " the new AVMA

policy continues.

" Tethers can be constructed of rope, chain, or nylon

webbing. Their use and fit should not result in discomfort or skin

injury. Forelimb tethers should be loose on the foot below the ankle

joint. Hind limb tethers should fit snugly on the limb between the

ankle and knee joints. Tether length should be sufficient to allow

the elephant to easily lie down and rise. The AVMA only supports the

use of tethers for the shortest time required for specific management

purposes. "

The AVMA acknowledged that it adopted the new policy to avoid

the passage of bills proposed in several states to ban the ankus

and/or chaining elephants as a primary means of confinement.

The significance of the AVMA policy in India is that it gives

the humane community a specific international standard to point

toward, in absence of specific Indian standards, in responding to

rising concern about working elephants running amok in public

places--especially at temples during religious festivals, and

nowhere more than in the southern coastal state of Kerala.

One of just two Indian states that permit cattle slaughter,

Kerala is notoriously indifferent toward enforcing animal welfare

legislation of any kind. Thiruvanathapuram, the Keralan capital,

has often openly defied the decade-old Indian national policy against

killing street dogs, allege Animal Rights Kerala founder Avis Lyons

and other local activists.

But the elephant situation is a bit different, because

ignoring humane standards of elephant care gets people killed, often

before thousands of witnesses.

" Since January, rampaging elephants have killed 18 people,

including eight mahouts, across Kerala, " wrote Ka Shaji in April

2008 for the news magazine Tehelka.

Elephant rampages occurred at 26 Kerala temples in 120 days

between October 2007 and February 1, 2008, including at 15 temples

in January alone, reported K. Santhosh of The Hindu. That was after

elephants " killed 49 persons, 44 mahouts and five others, in the

state between August 1, 2006 and March 15, 2007, according to the

Kerala Elephant Lovers Association, " Santhosh added. " In all, 147

captive elephants died during the same period. "

" Unethical treatment provokes elephant fury, " KELA secretary

V.K. Venkitachalam told Santhosh. " Elephants showing signs of musth

are featured at festivals instead of being given rest.

Poorly-trained mahouts are appointed. Many of the mahouts suffer

from alcoholism, " Venkitachalam added.

Former Kerala cabinet minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar, now

president of the Kerala Elephant Owners' Federation, told Santhosh

that " The Federation will direct mahouts not to drink while they are

on duty. We also plan district-level squads to prevent elephants

showing signs of musth from being featured in festivals. "

But Ka Shaji, for one, expressed little confidence that the

Kerala elephant industry is capable of self-regulation --partly

because the numbers of elephant-keeping entrepreneurs are believed to

be rapidly growing, taking advantage of an abundance of young

" rogue " elephants who are captured from forests in other regions and

broken to labor as a prelude to logging. In earlier times the

elephants were used in the logging work itself. Now tractors are

used, and the object of capture is chiefly just to get the elephants

out of the way.

" Currently, some 700 elephants are in captivity across the

state, " up from about 650 a year ago, wrote Ka Shaji. " About 260

are with the devaswoms, the temple bodies, while 440 are

individually owned. Kerala Forest Minister Binoy Viswam last year

said that all elephants will be retired at the age of 65 years, " a

relatively meaningless promise, since elephants who work on pavement

in urban traffic are typically unable to work--or live--much past 45.

" But no follow-up action has been taken, " Ka Shaji charged. " His

other elephant-friendly initiatives such as fixed work hours and safe

transportation for the elephants also remain on paper. "

Transporting elephants instead of obliging them to walk long

distances to their temple appearances is among the KELA

recommendations for avoiding rampages. Tired elephants become

cranky--as do elephants who become too hot, unable to cool off in a

body of water, as they would in the wild.

The India Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and the Kerala

Captive Elephants Management and Maintenance Rules forbid parading

elephants during the heat of the day, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.,

but the managing committees of the Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu

devaswoms on March 17, 2008 petitioned the Kerala government to

waive the rules during Thrissur Pooram and other major religious

festivals.

Some action has been taken on the pledge to retire elephants,

Daily Telegraph Cochin correspondent Amrit Dhillon reported on April

5, 2008. " India's first retirement home for elderly elephants opens

next month inside a tranquil forest at Kottur, " Dhillon wrote.

" Paid for by the state government, the home will buy old elephants

for a nominal sum from owners who cannot or will not look after them

properly. "

The first 30 elephants to be retired to the 1,000-acre refuge

are to arrive in May 2008, said Dhillon.

In Karnataka, the state to the north and east of Kerala,

" the government has for the first time cancelled the elephant

ownership certificate of a temple due to ill-treatment of its

elephant, " Compassion Unlimited Plus Action co-founder Suparna

Ganguly recently told ANIMAL PEOPLE. " CUPA battled since 2004 to

wrest the much abused elephant Girija Prasad, " also called

Mani-kantan, " away from the Aiyappa Swamy Temple in Bangalore, "

Ganguly wrote. " Pressure went on through three chief wildlife

wardens and many meetings with various bureaucrats and politicians,

including then-chief minister Dharam Singh. The case went through

many hearings in the Karnataka High Court, " argued by CUPA attorney

Brindha Nandkumar.

" Eventually the 18-year-old bull elephant was confiscated by

the Forest Department, " Ganguly continued, " but his legal status

was ambiguous. CUPA partly supported him through his four years at

various government centers, and kept a strong tab on his welfare. "

The Karnataka High Court refused to convict the Aiyappa Swamy

Temple authorities of cruelty to Girija Prasad, and an appeal to the

Supreme Court of India in February 2008 brought no immediate results,

but on March 13, 2008 current Karnataka chief wildlife warden used

his executive authority to cancel the temple's ownership certificate

and retire the elephant to the Shakrebyle Elephant camp, in Shimoga

District, about eight hours away from Bangalore. --Merritt Clifton

 

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

Telephone: 360-579-2505

Fax: 360-579-2575

E-mail: anmlpepl

Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

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