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Elderly Elephants Catch a Break
Bombay, Aug 10: Some Indian elephants won`t have to keep working like a dog any more.
Bombay, Aug 10: Some Indian elephants won't have to keep working like a dog any more.
The state of Kerala has set a compulsory retirement age of 65 for the hundreds of elephants used for colorful Hindu festivals or to cart timber over its hilly terrain.
"Many elephants were being ill-treated and they didn't get proper medical attention," state forests chief V. Gopinath said in the state capital, Trivandrum.
Kerala has about 800 working elephants, more than any other state, living an average 80 years and earning Rs 5,000-25,000 a day, depending on the occasion and the size of the animal.
India has an estimated 30,000 wild and captive elephants, about half of which live in the isolated northeast bounded by Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Nepal. Kerala is the first state to set guidelines for their treatment.
Kerala's new rules, issued a few months ago, also require each animal to have its own mahout and to walk no more than 19 miles a day.
But elephant owners are not happy.
"Age should not be the criterion for determining when an elephant should retire," Kerala Elephant Owners' Association chief Babu Namboodiri said. "Its health and physical fitness are more important." Bureau Report
"Many elephants were being ill-treated and they didn't get proper medical attention," state forests chief V. Gopinath said in the state capital, Trivandrum.
Kerala has about 800 working elephants, more than any other state, living an average 80 years and earning Rs 5,000-25,000 a day, depending on the occasion and the size of the animal.
India has an estimated 30,000 wild and captive elephants, about half of which live in the isolated northeast bounded by Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Nepal. Kerala is the first state to set guidelines for their treatment.
Kerala's new rules, issued a few months ago, also require each animal to have its own mahout and to walk no more than 19 miles a day.
But elephant owners are not happy.
"Age should not be the criterion for determining when an elephant should retire," Kerala Elephant Owners' Association chief Babu Namboodiri said. "Its health and physical fitness are more important." Bureau Report