The Rajasthan High Court has issued a notice to the state government on the charge of violating animal protection laws while permitting elephant polo matches and using elephants for ferrying tourists to Amber fort.

The high court issued the notice on Thursday on a public interest litigation filed after a global controversy erupted over a elephant polo match organised recently in Jaipur.

A division bench of the court has directed the chief secretary, the principal chief conservator of forests, the chief wildlife warden and the director general of police to file their replies on the matter.

The PIL was moved by a Haryana-based animal welfare organisation, People for Animals. Naresh Kumar Kadyan, head of PFA, pointed out that elephant is a Schedule-I animal listed in the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and requires protection in its natural habitat.

The PIL mentions the provisions of Performing Animals (Registration) Rules 2001, prohibiting the use of elephants in entertainment activities.

Cartier Elephant Polo Cup 2006 to be held here Nov 18 is drawing flak from animal activists.

People for Animals (PFA), a Haryana-based NGO, has served legal notice to the chief secretary, principal conservator of forests and director general of police of Rajasthan seeking immediate ban on the use of elephants for entertainment.

'We have served legal notice to the officials and we will wait till Thursday after which we plan to file a public interest litigation in the Rajasthan high court Friday against the use of elephants for entertainment,' Mahendra Singh Kachhawa, PFA's counsel, told IANS.

Another NGO, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (India), has also come out against the polo match.

Said the NGO: 'Elephants forced to participate in polo matches are captured from the wild and taken away from their families and natural homes. They routinely suffer chronic physical ailments, social and emotional deprivation and premature deaths and are confined to extremely tiny spaces.'

Asking people to support its cause, PETA India has demanded that Cartier withdraw its sponsorship for this cruel 'sport' immediately.

'Tell Cartier that it should find ways to promote its fine jewellery without causing harm to animals,' the NGO said through one of its alerts.

But despite the criticism, Elephant Family, a London based body involved with conservation of elephants globally in association with Help in Suffering (HIS), an NGO in the area of animal welfare, is going ahead with its plan to organise the Cartier-sponsored event.

'The event is an attempt to draw global attention towards Asian elephants which suffer heavily because of the bloody slaughter for ivory. HIS has organised the jumbo show to raise funds for the conservation of elephants,' organisers say.

Brother-in-law of Prince Charles, Mark Shand, who is an activist and is involved with Elephant Family, feels that all those criticising the elephant polo match have done little to conserve the animal.

'Elephant polo is being played in Jaipur for the past over 35 years. Where have been the protesters till now?' Shand asked.

'We have taken every possible step to see that elephants are treated well during the match. We have ensured that no metal bullhooks are used,' he said.

Cartier Holds Elephant Polo Match In India

Monday, 27 November 2006

The pairing of Cartier and polo - the sport of kings - should come as no surprise, but the elegant jewelers have added an interesting twist to the scenario. Forget the horses, it's "Elephant" polo at Cartier. Cartier became involved in the event to highlight the plight of Asian elephants, whose numbers are rapidly diminishing. Held in India's 'Pink City', the glamorous event attracted the creme of international high society and celebrities. Local branch of animal activist lobby group PETA protested at the site claiming that the event was perpetrating cruelty to animals, suggesting that the jeweler should stick to "selling watches." It's a contentious situation and certainly harks back to the colonial, English Raj days. by Lisa Evans

Elephant Polo Draws Anger of Animal Welfare Groups

JAIPUR, India, November 20, 2006 (ENS) - Eighteen protesters from organizations across India were arrested Friday at Jaipur's polo ground as they demonstrated against a game of elephant polo, a sport they say is cruel to the elephants.

The protesters say sharp steel hooks used to prod the elephants into obeying their riders cause open wounds, which become painfully infected and are slow to heal.

They claim the resulting head injuries are covered with ornamental cloths and jewellery to hide them from spectators.

Use of the hooks was not allowed during the actual polo match on Saturday after a campaign against them by animal welfare groups, Elephant Family of the UK and Help in Suffering of Jaipur.

But protesters say they observed trainers using the steel hooks on elephants before and after the match.

Elephant with marks from a steel hook showing on its truck and belly (Photo courtesy PETA-India)

Polo elephants are captured from the wild and kept chained up, and the protesters say that is no way to treat members of an endangered species.

The polo match was sponsored by jewelry giant Cartier, which said in a statement November 15 that the event was held for the benefit of working elephants in the Indian state of Rajasthan and its capital, Jaipur.

The company "has chosen to leverage its name and reputation in order to improve living and working conditions for elephants in India," according to Cartier's statement.

Elephant polo has a 35 year history in Jaipur. The event was endorsed by the Animal Welfare Board of India, a government agency, and was monitored by members of Elephant Family and Help in Suffering.

Cartier says it is "proud to support" the activities of these organizations.

But the protesters want the company to withdraw its sponsorship, demonstrating with a banner reading, "Cartier: Time to Stop Elephant Cruelty."

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India also has demanded that Cartier withdraw its elephant polo sponsorship. "Tell Cartier that it should find ways to promote its fine jewelry without causing harm to animals," the NGO said in a statement.

Mark Shand, the brother of Camilla Parker Bowles and brother-in-law to Britain's Prince Charles, helped to organize the Jaipur polo match. Author of "Travels on my Elephant," the story of his 600 mile elephant ride across India, Shand says the protesters are off the mark.

"We have taken every possible step to see that elephants are treated well during the match. We have ensured that no metal bullhooks are used," he told the Indo Asian News Service.

The issue is now before the Rajasthan High Court. People for Animals, PFA, a Haryana-based nongovernmental organization, filed a public interest lawsuit Friday seeking a ban on the use of elephants for entertainment.

The Jaipur match was the start of elephant polo season which continues Saturday with the 25th anniversary of World Elephant Polo - a week-long series of matches at Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge in the Royal Chitwan National Park in southwest Nepal.

Sponsored by liquor manufacturer Chivas Regal, eight teams from around the world will participate, including Nepal, United Kingdom, India, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

Elephant polo at Tiger Tops (Photo courtesy World Polo Assn.)

The World Elephant Polo Association, WEPA, was formed in 1982 at Tiger Tops. The first games were played on a grass airfield in Meghauly which is located on the border of the national park.

The co-founders, James Manclark, a Scottish landowner and former Olympic tobogganer and Jim Edwards, owner of Tiger Tops and chairman of the Tiger Mountain Group, came up with the idea in a bar in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

The invitational WEPA tournament has been hosted by Tiger Tops at Meghauly each December since 1982.

Elephant polo was first played in India around the turn of the 20th century. It is played with a standard polo ball and bamboo sticks with a standard polo mallet on the end. The length of the stick depends on the size of the elephant - anywhere from five to 12 feet.

Most of the rules of the games are based on horse polo, but the pitch is three-quarters the length because of the slower speed of the elephants.

The elephants are driven by their trainers, called mahouts. The player's responsibility is to let the mahout know where to go, how fast, and when to stop.

A pre-event gala was held in London on October 21 where funds were collected to support charities in Nepal. The after-event ball, also sponsored by Chivas Regal, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Kathmandu.

JAIPUR: An elephant polo match scheduled to be held on Saturday at the city's Rambagh polo ground has invited the wrath of animal activists.

Sporting elephant masks and dressed like jail-birds on Friday, activists of animal protection groups like PETA, GSPCA, Ranjith For Animals and RAW among others raised placards to protest against the polo match which is like watching traditional horseback polo in slow motion.

Ironically, the event sponsored by Cartier the target of activist ire is a fund raiser organised by the London-based Elephant Family, which works for elephant welfare, and Help In Suffering (HIS) of Jaipur. The money raised is to go towards protecting and saving the pachyderm.

The animal welfare groups have criticised the scheduled match saying it was cruel to elephants. The groups, which raised banners like 'Cartier: Time to Stop Elephant Cruelty' outside Central Park, want the sponsor to stop the abuse of the animal.

Though animal activists are up in arms, government officials see no reason to stop the match. In fact, the Rajasthan government's tourism department also organises elephant polo matches in the Pink City during its annual elephant festival at the city's Chaughan Stadium.

Controversy over elephant polo

Sunny Sebastian

Animal protection groups for cancellation of the event to be held in Jaipur

File Photo: AFP

An elephant polo match in progress.

JAIPUR: There is much ado about elephants, who are scheduled to play polo here in the Pink City this Saturday. Titled "alternative elephant polo", the event supported by jewellery major Cartier has got into a major controversy involving animal protection groups such as PETA and PFA (People for Animals).

Interestingly, the responsibility for hosting the event at Rambagh Polo Grounds here is partnered by the UK-based Elephant Family, a group dedicated to the welfare of Asian elephants and HIS (Help in Suffering), a Jaipur-based NGO, which takes care of animals in distress. The event purportedly is to present "a model of how elephants and humans can relater to each other humanely".

The protest groups, which are demanding cancellation of the event - as it, according to them, involves cruelty to the elephants— has reportedly served legal notices to the Rajasthan Government seeking an immediate ban on use of elephants for entertainment.

The protests have caught the attention of the local and the international media as some of the persons involved are celebrities.

Ironically, the volley of protests over elephant polo came in the wake of the organisers promising "elephant polo with a difference"— that is, the avoidance of the use of "ankush" (sharp metal hooks) by mahouts in the game. HIS and Elephant Family, which have been working for a more humane treatment of the 100-odd elephants employed at the historic Amber Fort here for joyrides, consider the coming game a breakthrough.

"It is not harsh on elephants," says Mark Shand, trustee of Elephant Family. "This is an awareness event on the animal. There will not be any application of `ankush' or other forms of implements on the elephants during the game. Elephants love to play and move around. The current diatribe is seemingly motivated... "

Mr.Shand, an India-lover, is the brother of Camilla Parker and friend to former Queen Mother of Jaipur Gayatri Devi.

"We are glad to be associated with the elephant polo event," said Patrick Normand, Managing Director of Cartier Middle East and Asia, interacting with media persons on the occasion of unveiling of the Cartier trophy.

GET THE GROOM AN ELEPHANT - NARESH KADYAN visit site
Animals (tags: abuse, cruelty, animalsuffering, wildanimals, crime )

NARESH
- 1 minute ago - time.com

As per the law of the land, the Elephant is a scheduled 1 animal under Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 & this is the Govt. property then the commercial use of the animals against the law / violations of the Central Zoo Authority along with the PCA Act.

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