Byculla Zoo officials await notice on relocation of elephants

The Byculla Zoo in Mumbai houses two elephants – a 70-year-old female,Lakshmi,and another female,aged about 50,Anarkali.

Yuvraj Kaginkar,consulting doctor at the zoo,said,“The elephant enclosure here is around 1.5 acres. However,considering the size of an elephant and its highly communicative nature,the size is small.”

Kaginkar pointed out that while it is a good idea to relocate elephants to sanctuaries,it may not be an easy task. “These elephants have been captives for a long time and there will be major management,infrastructure and human resource issues involved in their relocation. The animals will have to be rehabilitated to live in the open. Problems like poaching,maintenance of electric boundaries will have to be regulated. I hope the CZA has organised all these aspects while issuing the notice,” he said.

The CZA ruling has come after years of campaigning by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to free chained pachyderms in circuses and zoos. Anuradha Sawhney,former PETA chief who now works as Animal Welfare Board of India’s co-opted member,said,“In PETA we were pursuing the CZA to ban elephants from zoos and circuses because they were not cared for properly. However,a few years ago,instead of taking action the CZA was planning to wash its hands off circus animals. In the beginning of 2008 we reinitiated our campaign and wrote letters to the MOEF and the CZA. The result is now evident. We have managed to ban zoos from exhibiting elephants.”

PETA in its letter to MOEF wrote,“Elephants used in circuses are abducted from their families,chained by the legs and beaten into submission. They are forced to perform ridiculous,frightening and sometimes dangerous tricks under the constant threat of punishment from ankus (bullhooks) which are jabbed into the sensitive skin on their face,feet and knees. In the wild,elephants are highly social animals who thrive in matriarchal herds,protecting each other and caring for orphaned babies. They also travel many miles a day which is necessary for their health and well-being. We know that elephants experience joy,sadness and fear. In circuses,their complex and multifaceted emotional relationships are left in tatters.”