In a groundbreaking decision, a Bangladeshi court on Sunday prohibited the adoption of elephants from the wild, earning praise from animal rights activists who hailed the move as a “landmark” order to curb cruelty towards these majestic creatures.
The high court’s order, which suspends licences related to captive rearing of elephants, is viewed as a significant step to halt the mistreatment of captive Asian elephants under the guise of training.
Deputy Attorney General Amit Das Gupta stated, “The high court today suspended all licences for the captive rearing of elephants.”
Once a prominent habitat for Asian elephants, Bangladesh has witnessed a drastic decline in their numbers due to poaching and habitat loss, leading to their classification as critically endangered in the country, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Currently, nearly 100 captive Asian elephants exist in Bangladesh, representing almost half of the remaining wild elephant population in the country.
As logging and agricultural activities encroach upon elephant territories, young elephants are captured in the northern and southeastern hills of the country. Previously, the forestry department issued licences to logging groups for the use of elephants in dragging tree trunks or to circus groups for adoption.
However, Gupta argued that the elephants were being exploited, engaging in activities such as begging and “street extortion,” thereby violating the terms of their licences.
The dire situation of captive elephants gained attention in May of the previous year when a young elephant, used for begging on the streets, tragically lost its life in a collision with a train.
