Watching elephants performing in circus may soon be a thing of the past in the country. Wildlife SOS is teaming up with the Green Ministry to rescue about 67 circus elephants. The organisation has earlier stopped the practice of dancing bears in the country.
In the first phase of this campaign, Wildlife SOS plans to facilitate the rescue of 17 elephants. It would not only liberate the jumbos from circuses, but also move them to elephant rehabilitation centers.
“The entire process involves investigations, legal costs, the rescue process, transport after rescue, and getting the elephants settled in their new homes,” said members of the organisation. Wildlife SOS is also launching a fund-raising campaign to raise funds for the first phase of the circus elephant project.
One of the circus elephants in need of immediate and urgent rescue is a female named Suzy (name changed to protect her identity). “We have placed Suzy at the top of our priority list for rescue, and hope to bring her to our elephant care center in the near future,” said Geeta Seshamani, co-founder of Wildlife SOS.
Suzy is blind and is having a very poor health. Confused and lost, she is forced to stand in her own dung and urine for days. She remains chained all the time except when she is forced to perform tricks. Suzy’s mental and physical health status is very poor due to a complete lack of veterinary care, no regular exercise, no enrichment, and an unbalanced diet with poor nutrition, she said.
Giving support to the efforts of the organisation is Project Elephant, under the aegis of Environment Ministry. It has facilitated the creation of the first elephant rehabilitation center in Haryana in collaboration with Wildlife SOS and the Haryana Forest Department. This facility currently houses three rescued elephants with a capacity to house up to 50 elephants.
Further, the Government has recently added elephants in the list that prohibits wild animals as tigers, bears, leopards, lions and monkeys in circuses. Animal Welfare Board of India has issued show cause notices to circuses found lacking in animal welfare, documenting several cases in connection with poor upkeep of elephants.