By Asmita Sarkar:
During the 17th Century, when Jahangir was the Mughal emperor, India is believed to have had 1,13,000 elephants. The largest mammal on land has, however, dwindled in numbers. India is home to 25000 wild elephants.
There’s a slowly increasing number of domesticated elephants, of which, according to this Eleaid, an NGO, 110 are used in circuses and 190 in temples in India. An inspection was conducted by Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) with veterinarians, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, Animal Rahat and Heritage Animal Task Force on the captive elephants in Kerala at the Thrissur Pooram event held on 29 and 30 April 2015. The proof of animal cruelty then lead to the Supreme Court of India directing that no elephants used during poorams (festivals) should be treated with cruelty.
Not only in festivals in India, but also as part of wildlife tourism in Southern Africa, elephants have been treated as a source of entertainment. World Animal Protection, an NGO, is making sure that elephants stay wild not tourist entertainment.
