Zoo authority comes to aid of elephants

Taking serious note of the cruelty to the elephants at Rambo Circus camped in Mumbai, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has directed the proprietor of the circus to hand over all the four injured elephants to Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park and Wildlife Rescue Centre at Karjat. The cruelty came to light when volunteers of Plant and Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), Mumbai, conducted a surprise check at the circus in the last week of October.
CZA secretary DR Rajesh Gopal, in a letter written to the proprietor, stated that during the field appraisal of the circus at Bandra (W), it was noticed that the elephants were in dire condition. “In the context of the visit and the subsequent report, you are advised to immediately transfer the elephants to Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park and Wildlife Rescue Centre, Karjat, for necessary treatment,” the letter said.

When PAWS volunteers visited the circus, they found the animals in pathetic condition, and the manager of the circus failed to produce any record of their vaccination and health check up. All the four female elephants had serious skin infection and one of them was suffering from a nail infection since 2004. “The manager claimed that the elephant was being treated by a Kerala-based veterinarian who is consulted regularly over telephone,” said Sunish Subramanian, founder secretary of PAWS, Mumbai. He pointed out that one of the elephants was limping and the management was aware about the reason. According to the observations made by the PAWS volunteers, the horses were weak and malnourished, while the elephants showed symptoms of hyperkeratosis of the skin, which is thickening of the outer layer of the skin, besides other ailments.

Sujit Dilip, owner of the circus, claimed the matter was not serious. “It is true that the CZA has asked us to transfer the elephants for treatment. In fact, we had already approached the park authorities. Despite transferring the elephants to the park, they would be under our custody,” Dilip said.