Bangladesh elephants receive a chance at life with Jaya Ahsan’s initiative

Responding to a writ filed by popular actress Jaya Ahsan and PAW Foundation Founder and Chairman Rakibul Haque Amil, a court suspended the issuing and renewal of licenses to adopt elephants from the wild.

A high court bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Kazi Zeenat Haque passed the order on Sunday following a preliminary hearing of a writ seeking to stop the adoption of wild elephants in an effort to protect them from brutal exploitation.

Previously, a writ petition was filed in the relevant branch of the High Court regarding animal rights to ban the use of elephants in various forms of entertainment, such as circuses, riding on their backs, weddings, and celebrations at commercial and political establishments, as well as in advertisements keeping them under human control, by Jaya and Amil.

According to a press release, their application was submitted by barrister Saqeb Mahbub to the relevant branch of the High Court.

Upon receiving the verdict, thanking their representative in the court, Jaya shared on her Facebook, "Thank you, Barrister Saqeb Mahbub and The Team! You are such a good soul. Hope your work will show the dawn to the Elephants!"

The application for a writ petition raised questions regarding the license issued by the Forest Department for the use of elephants in circus activities. It stated that in circuses and magic shows, it is mandatory to separate the baby elephants from their mothers and train them through relentless cruelty.

In this regard, Jaya Ahsan told the media, "The way elephants are forcibly separated from their mothers' embrace and subjected to inhumane treatment through rigorous training for several months seems utterly medieval to me. In modern-day Bangladesh, we cannot condone this barbarism in any way."

"Furthermore, elephants are endangered animals, and exploiting them for entertainment purposes is both a crime and a moral dilemma. Many lives have been lost while trying to capture elephants for such purposes," she continued.

"To end this barbarity, we have repeatedly appealed to the Forest Department. As no solution seems forthcoming, we have sought refuge in the honourable court of our country to protect this national asset. We hope that the honourable court will provide a landmark verdict to safeguard our nation's biodiversity."

Notably, it is a common practice, and nearly half of the 200 elephants in Bangladesh are kept in captivity and employed in circuses or used for begging.

Bangladesh was once home to the majority of Asian elephants. Still, poaching and habitat loss led to a sharp decline in their numbers, prompting authorities to declare elephants in the country critically endangered.

The petition highlighted the inhumane treatment of captive elephants, which prevailed despite efforts by activists.

The Forestry Department, responsible for granting licenses for the adoption of elephants to logging groups and circuses, had pledged to tackle the mistreatment of these animals. The elephants were being exploited for begging and engaging in "street extortion," violating their licenses' terms.

Animal rights groups welcomed the court order issued on Sunday, stating that the suspension would put an end to the harsh training methods aimed at domesticating the wild tuskers, commonly referred to as "Hadani."

"This is a landmark order," said Rakibul Haque Amil, chairman of PAW.

"In this name of training elephants, private licensees, including circus parties, brutally separate elephant calves from their mother, shackle them for months and then torture them to teach tricks," he said. "We hope it is the end of "Hadani" in Bangladesh."

The plight of the captive elephants was highlighted in May last year when a young elephant, used for begging on the streets, was killed by a train, resulting in a public outrage.
 

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