Next Time You Take A Joy Ride In Jaipur, Look Into The Eyes Of The Elephant, It Has An Untold Story Of Animal Cruelty

Taking an elephant ride up the hill has become an indispensable part of a visit to the Amer Fort in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

It has become so popular that tourists are made to feel like they have missed out on something if they don't take the ride.

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While there is no doubt that the elephant rides uphill through the majestic fort gives the tourists an experience of a lifetime, there is a dark side to it.?

The 'elephant in the room' here is the elephants themselves, or the way they are treated, to be exact.

The nearly half-an-hour long joyride up and down the hill costs Rs 1,100 for two passengers however has a hidden cost - the health and wellbeing of the elephants.?

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The more than a hundred elephants at the fort which are used to ferry the tourists have to make multiple trips up and down throughout the day, even in the scorching heat.

As the tourist numbers grow and the popularity of the joyrides increases the elephants have to overwork, often without proper time for food and rest. There have been at least a couple of incidents in the past few years exhausted elephants collapsed and died.?

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World Animal Protection, an international NGO has been running a campaign for years to end the use of elephants for rides in the Amer Fort, alleging that the animals have been subjected to cruelty and ill-treatment for the sake of the tourists.

On Friday, World Animal Protection held the screening of a documentary that showed how the animals are treated.

“Elephants are wild animals and they deserve to be in the wild. Amer Fort in Jaipur city is not a place for an elephant. This is not their natural habitat. We must put an end of elephant rides at Amer Fort,” said Gajender K Sharma, Country Director, World Animal Protection India.

According to Shubhubroto Ghosh, Wildlife Research Manager, World Animal Protection India, the campaign is aimed at ending the practice of using wildlife as a source of entertainment and have them retired and give them a life of dignity.?

"We are trying to end this practice of using the elephants for rides and retire the animals in an elephant-friendly facility, where they will be taken care of properly," Ghosh told Indiatimes.

But where did the elephants come from?

Given the fact that Rajasthan is a desert state, it is only natural to assume that elephants are not native species, which is genetically adapted to live in the hot and dry conditions there.

According to wildlife campaigners, these elephants were captured from the forests of Assam at a young age and sold at the traditional ‘Hathi bazar’ (elephant?market) in Bihar's Sonpur until 2004 when it was declared illegal. They also allege that despite the ban, elephants are still sold at the fair and are brought to states like Rajasthan.

World Animal Protection

Once the elephants are brought to Jaipur, they are sheltered at the Hathi Gaon (Elephant village) where they are tamed and trained as ride animals.

"The village was meant to be a safe and comfortable place for the elephants to stay. But it is nothing than a car shed for elephants. It is ill-equipped to house an animal like an elephant. During the training, elephants are starved, kept on chains. They go through a process called 'the crush', they are beaten badly to make them obedient," Ghosh explained.

World Animal Protection

The years of abuse, overwork, and inhospitable conditions have taken a toll on the elephants' health.?

"A number of elephants have many health issues, with skin diseases being most prominent. Many elephants have also injuries on their feet simply by going up and down the fort. Elephants foot is not designed to scale steep slopes. There was also an outbreak of Tuberculosis in 2018, following which ten elephants had to be removed from the rides," he said.

World Animal Protection

Another striking thing that one can notice at the Amer Fort is the sheer number of female elephants. This, Ghosh said is no accident, but is a part of the design as it is easier to train and control female elephants.

According to Ghosh, they are demanding a total ban on using the elephants for rides as the authorities have failed to implement the existing rules.

"There were some regulations in place like timings for the ride, that is between 08-12 in the day. There is also regulation on performing animals, but these are not implemented. That is why we are demanding a total ban," he said.

World Animal Protection

World Animal Protection is currently working with the Rajasthan Government to come up with a solution where the elephants are taken care of and not tortured while ensuring that they still attract tourists and the mahouts and their families still have a livelihood.?

"There is no way in Rajasthan that you can ride an elephant without cruelty. That is why we want this to end. In Thailand, they have stopped using elephants for rides and the tourists are still paying to visit the place to see the elephants. A similar system can be implemented in Rajasthan also. As far as rehabilitating the mahouts are concerned, in the past, we have successfully rehabilitated the Kalandars who used the bears when the bear dance was banned. The same can be done with the mahouts," he said.