Guidelines needed for domesticating elephants in Temples
Letter to the Editor
Dear Sir,
Elephants should coexist in the jungles with their own family in dignity and respect. The elephant, on the other hand, is a representation of our rich history and culture and plays a significant part in religious rituals and worship.
Therefore, in order for these majestic animals to live away from nature and be sacrificed, the temple administration where Elephants are used ; is required to provide all the conditions relating to housing, management, feeding, atmosphere, and health coverage. Elephants in temples have long demanded care with regard to housing, feeding, management, and health coverage.
The primary issues with elephant management practises that require attention stem from the fact that elephants are chained for about twenty hours a day in stands or stables. Elephants move in a day at specific times. Man-made choices and standards for food result in a lack of variety and monotony. They have few social interactions and a stereotypical schedule and way of life.
The must period is comparatively longer, and animals are permanently chained. Mahouts have a declining social status and decreasingly useful skills. Mahouts frequently engage in drug use. Accidents are happening more frequently.
An animal welfare organisation recently conducted a study on the status of elephants in temples, and the results showed that ninty percent of the elephants were housed in enclosures with artificial roofing materials and hard floors. Despite having access to sufficient good resources, only ten percent of elephants are given clean water for drinking and bathing.
Poor conditions provided for resting, shade and sleep in majority of locations. Elephants were generally made to walk on hard shells and majority of them had nonstop training practices. All of them are made to stand for long hours in front of the tabernacle. Most of the mammoths were given poor quality food in the form of beats, carbohydrates and roughage. Routine medical care and treatment wasn’t available and indeed also the attending veterinarians demanded applicable knowledge of the health issues. Utmost Elephants have injuries in the bases, temperamental and behavioural issues and vices due to managemental problems. Elephants are veritably sensitive creatures, conscious of environmental changes and happenings each around. Now a day’s rigid and harsh restraint styles and training procedures to keep them under check and control negatively affects resulting in violence. Therefore strong guidelines are needed to be provided by the government for this mammoth which is domesticated especially in temples.
Vijaykumar H K (Environmentalist), Raichur, Karnataka
KV News
