: Moved by the plight of the Asian elephants, a group of elephant supporters is mobilising opinion abroad for saving the animals.
Save the Asian Elephant campaign, spearheaded by Duncan McNair, a corporate litigation lawyer in London, has petitioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and initiated a signature campaign in the UK.
Mr. McNair had recently toured Kerala and visited centres were captive elephants were housed, including elephant shelter of Guruvayoor Devaswom and Kodanad, to see the captive elephants and elephant corridors of Wayanad.
The animal lover was disturbed by the manner in which elephants were transported between sites for “commercial purposes–at speed and in flat back trucks with little protection against falling out.”
The group also succeeded in moving a resolution in the British parliament, which spoke about the ‘threats to the welfare and survival of Asian elephants’ in Indian and South-East Asia.
The resolution called on the “Indian and South-East Asian governments to take immediate measures to bring the ill-treatment to an end and calls on tourists from UK not to support any attractions that involve captive elephants.”
The group has called for ending the domestication of captured elephants, poaching and cruel practices including beating, wounding with sharp implements and keeping them chained.
'The animal rights campaigners also urged “tourists, travel agents and tour operators not to support any attractions that involve captive elephants other than those genuinely operating as sanctuaries.”
