In a country where the Ganesh Idol is revered, his live incarnations suffer in a life long lockdown of torture. And tourists do not understand the price these gentle sentient beings must pay for the petty care they get. Every day before the lockdown, these elephants despite their foot injury and poor health were made to walk up and down the tar roads to and from Amer Fort. Many of them will, unfortunately, continue to suffer even after tourism resumes UNLESS you make a conscious decision to #refusetoride. The elephant owners are using the lockdown to create sympathy for themselves so that when tourism does begin, they can go on with business as usual. But let this propaganda not fool you. The elephants are not dying because there are no tourists! The elephants are dying because the government won't give them the money that is in the Elephant Fund. The government created this fund for the wellbeing of the elephants! So what are they doing with this money? We also believe that the elephant owners should not depend on wild animals for their income! They must find other sources of livelihood. There must be a stop to this illegal nexus that brutally captures calves and smuggles them into Jaipur. We know who the members of the nexus are and the government knows too. Yet, because of some twisted reasons, there has been no effort to put a STOP to it!

The owners of the elephants want us to believe that because tourism has stopped, they do not have enough money to pay for the elephant's upkeep. We ask the people of India, "should the life of elephants be dependent on how much money they make or do not make for their owners?"

Let's clear some air here.  The Hathi Gaon is managed by the Forest Department of Rajasthan. So we believe it is their responsibility to care for the elephants and mahout families that live within its walls!

Background:

Following the death of 4 elephants in Hathi Gaon, Jaipur activists are questioning the ability of the elephant owners in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the remainder of the elephants housed there.

In just a matter of 3-4 months, the elephants have perished due to negligence and lack of adequate care during the lockdown.

Two out of the 4 elephants in question (numbers 99 and 64 – Rani and Chanchal, respectively) had tested positive for tuberculosis (TB) in 2018 during the AWBI inspection, but were declared TB-free by the Rajasthan Forest Department in 3-5 months, while actually, it takes at least 6-12 month’s intensive treatment for any elephant to recover from TB. These facts are alarming!

Neither the Forest Department, the Animal Husbandry department, nor the owners are taking responsibility for the deaths. These elephants continue to be privately owned despite their Schedule 1 status in our law!

The Campaign:

Jaipur animal activists led by Help in Suffering and Angel Eyes are leading a national Digital Protest to call attention to Jaipur’s Hathi Gaon Prisoners. Meanwhile, locally in Jaipur, the activists will be staging a peaceful protest and candlelight vigil while maintaining social distance and respecting our police force. 

Our demands:

- A habitat fit for Elephants: Immediate sufficient food and clean drinking water should be provided, quality veterinary care including TB tests to be done, and ample exercise provisions to be made.

- Rehabilitation: Sick and old elephants should be rehabilitated. They should retire and be allowed a life of dignity.

- Nip evil in the bud: No new elephants should be allowed to enter into Jaipur. All those responsible in the racket should be brought to justice.

We hope the nation will stand by the remainder of the elephants at Hathi Gaon. While the exact number isn't known there are nearly 55+ elephants that are being tortured there.

Our government needs to be more proactive in saving the animals of our country before it is indeed too late! The lockdown of only a few months has taken a toll on us. Imagine what a lifetime of lockdown has done to the mental state of these wild elephants whose legs are tied with a rope less than a meter long!