I came to know that Maharashtra Forest Department is planning to capture and tame a wild elephant in conflict with human settlements at villages in Kolhapur district. I request the authorities to drop such plans of capturing and taming wild elephants for the following reasons.

1. Capturing wild elephant and taming is an age old practice fundamentally invented to use wild elephants for domestic purposes such as carrying heavy loads, using for wars etc. Today as there is no such domestic purposes for elephants, following such cruel taming practices is not a relevant solution for conflict issues.

2. Today we are technologically evolved and have innumerable possibilities to address all our issues. Early warning system, elephant movement tracker etc., can help reducing conflicts and casualties.

3. Fundamentally elephant stray out of the forest in search of food. So enriching their feed in the wild, providing fodders can reduce straying out of the wild.  As per a wild elephant research article - "The Surprising Clue to Reducing Human-Elephant Conflict: Minerals" - Elephants and other animals with vast home ranges have found themselves forced into increasingly smaller geographical areas, often restricted by fencing or other human activities. These smaller areas are then, in turn, under huge pressures to meet the animals’ nutritional needs. This can cause animals to alter their movement patterns and search for new sources of food, potentially causing human-elephant conflict.

4. Elephants' ecological value is in the wild and it is a very important role in forest ecosystem. Taming wild elephants and raising in captivity will not give any ecological value to the forest. Also providing nutritious feed to elephants inside forest costs very less than the cost of capturing the wild elephants in conflict, training and maintaining in captivity for the rest of their life. Capturing wild elephants is not a sustainable solution.

5. Wild elephants are dying at alarming rate in India due to poaching, electrocution, poisoning, train accidents, unhealthy habitat and other illegal activities by humans near elephant habitats, corridors and buffer zones. The priority should be given to the wild elephants and they should be protected in the wild for their ecological value.

6. In September 2020 month alone atleast 25 elephant deaths (2 gunshots, 10 electrocutions, 4 train accidents, 1 explosive and 8 unknown reasons) were reported across India. There could be more unreported deaths.

7. Elephants are listed in Schedule 1 protected species of Wildlife Protection Act 1972. They should never be captured unless for medical treatment and release back to the wild. Those elephants who cannot survive in the wild should be rehabilitated near forest area and should be never tamed for human purposes.

8.  When we do not have enough facilities and funds to rehabilitate existing suffering captive elephants in private custody, capturing new elephants from the wild is not only against the ecosystem but also neglecting the existing sick, old and abused captive elephants under private custody even without ownership papers. The wild elephant conflicts should be addressed in the wild itself.

9. Taming is a cruel practice. Wild elephant will be locked inside a small enclosure called Kraal in which the elephant cannot even move or turn or lay down. They will be given very little food and water to bring down their physical energy. They will be beaten and tortured to inflict pain and fear in them. Finally the elephant will psychologically break down and becomes a permanent slave to human. The entire process of taming is in violation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972. Such a cruel process of taming a wild elephant is not contemplated by law. There is no law in the country that allows for such a cruel act to be executed.

10. In the wild, elephants live in herds, with close family ties, but in captivity they mostly lives in isolated confinement. Many captive elephants suffer from arthritis, obesity or skin problems due to limited and restricted movement and activities. Elephants typically travel anywhere from 15 to 120 miles per day. In captivity, they average walk three miles daily, often walking back and forth in small enclosures. In humans, deprivation can trigger psychiatric issues, including depression, anxiety, mood disorders or post-traumatic stress disorder. Elephants and other animals with large brains are likely to react in similar ways to life in a severely stressful environment.

I once again request responsible authorities to drop the idea of capturing & taming wild elephants and use alternate methods to curb human elephant conflicts.