End Elephant Rides at Amer Fort:

At Amer Fort in Jaipur, dozens of elephants are still being used to carry tourists up the steep climb to the entrance. What many visitors do not realize is that these rides come at a devastating cost to the animals involved.

Elephants at Amer Fort endure harsh training, exhausting work, and living conditions that cause long-term physical and emotional suffering. Many are elderly or unwell, yet they are still pushed to work in extreme heat and on hard, uneven pathways. Behind the festive decorations and tourist photos are animals struggling with injuries, stress, and a lifetime of confinement. Elephants at Amer fort suffer due to:

• Physical pain and injury: Elephants are forced to carry heavy loads - often several tourists plus a saddle - up steep stone paths for hours. Elephants' backs are not naturally designed to carry weight, as their spines extend upwards. Constant pressure on their backbones from tourists can result in permanent spinal damage and chronic pain.
• Elephants also suffer severe foot damage when forced to walk on concrete roads. Their foot pads are naturally designed for soft earth, not hard, man‑made surfaces.
• Harsh training methods: To make elephants compliant, many are trained using fear and punishment, including tools like ankus (bull hooks). This breaks their spirit and causes long-term trauma.
• Extreme confinement and chaining: When not working, elephants are often chained for long hours with little space to move, preventing them from walking freely, socializing, or lying down comfortably.
• Psychological suffering: Elephants are highly intelligent, social beings. Isolation, constant control, and lack of choice lead to stress, depression, and stereotypic behaviors like swaying or head-bobbing—clear signs of distress.
• Deprivation of natural life: In the wild, elephants walk long distances, forage freely, bathe, and live in close family groups. At Amer Fort, they are denied these natural behaviors and treated as tourist attractions rather than sentient beings.

These intelligent, social beings deserve freedom, companionship, and the chance to move safely in natural environments—not a life spent carrying tourists for entertainment.

We are calling on the Rajasthan Government to take meaningful action by:

• Ending all elephant rides and performances at Amer Fort
• Rehabilitating the elephants in sanctuaries where they can receive proper care
• Promoting humane alternatives—such as electric vehicles or walking routes—that preserve both tourism and animal welfare

Visitors come to Amer Fort to appreciate its history and beauty, not to unknowingly support cruelty. Protecting these elephants will only strengthen Rajasthan’s reputation as a leader in compassionate, responsible tourism.

Please sign this petition and stand with us in urging the government to end elephant rides at Amer Fort. Together, we can help give these animals the dignity, safety, and respect they deserve.

Image Credit: PETA India