For Immediate Release:
5 May 2024
Contact:
Hiraj Laljani; HirajL@petaindia.org
Sachin Bangera; SachinB@petaindia.org
Agartala – After hearing from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India and hon’ble member of Parliament Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, the High-Powered Committee (HPC) of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India recommended that 55-year-old elephant Pratima and her calf be transferred to The Centre for Elephants at Vantara in Jamnagar to address the mother elephant’s chronic and complex medical conditions, which are apparently due to years of severe neglect. An alarmed Tripura resident appealed for help for Pratima and her calf via a video on social media. As a result of the appeal, the animals will live out their years together at Vantara, where there is a world-class veterinary facility specifically for elephants.
Enquiries revealed that Pratima and her calf were being kept illegally by an individual at Unakoti in Tripura. A veterinary examination revealed that Pratima was emaciated and had sustained multiple abscesses on her body. Her left foreleg was swollen, and she was unable to bear weight on it and was limping. She had also sustained multiple injuries to her abdomen and was suffering from a lack of muscle mass that had caused her backbone to become arched. In consideration of her significant long-term veterinary needs and her calf’s bond with and reliance on her, the elephants are now en route to the state-of-the-art elephant hospital at Vantara.
Photos of Pratima and her calf in Tripura and the video are available on request.
“PETA India thanks the Forest Department of Tripura and the High-Powered Committee of the Supreme Court for their prompt action in arranging specialised veterinary care for this elephant and for making sure that the mother-calf bond was not broken by separating the pair,” says PETA India Director of Advocacy Projects Khushboo Gupta. “PETA India is so happy that neglected Pratima and her beloved calf will finally find refuge under the care of experts at Vantara.”
The individual who was keeping Pratima and her calf did not have an ownership certificate for the elephants in violation of Section 42 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act (WPA), 1972, thereby making the possession of the animal illegal under Section 51 of the WPA, 1972. Captive elephants like Pratima are typically controlled with weapons and kept chained on concrete. Elephants used for logging, rides, ceremonies, and other purposes become frustrated and sometimes lash out and kill mahouts or other humans. Vantara does not use weapons on or chain the elephants it houses.
PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
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