Probe into deaths of elephants in Jaipur

JAIPUR: After the recent deaths of four elephants who were used for tourist rides in Jaipur, the India chapter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), recently fired off a letter to Rajasthan Chief Secretary Rajeev Swarup, requesting him to order a thorough probe into the incidents.

In its letter, PETA India Chief Advocacy Officer Khushboo Gupta said, "Please test all captive elephants in Jaipur for TB and introduce a policy to prohibit bringing any new captive elephants into Rajasthan. These important subjects were raised with the office of the chief wildlife warden of Rajasthan in a letter dated August 6. However, no action has been taken so far. Since March this year, four elephants (numbers 24, 64, 99, and 132) who were suspected of suffering from TB have died," she said in the letter.

The letter further asked the Rajasthan government to investigate and report the actual cause of death of the four elephants and prevent any new elephant from contracting TB. It also sought a policy decision under Section 40(2) of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) prohibiting the entry of any new captive elephants into Rajasthan and strict legal action against violators under Section 51 of the WPA. (IANS)

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