PETA knocks door of Rajasthan high court seeking an end to elephant joy rides at Amer Fort

Jaipur, July 13: People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India knocked the doors of Rajasthan High Court seeking an end to the elephant joy rides at the iconic Amer Fort and Hathi Gaon in Jaipur. The move aims to avoid the cruelty faced by elephants and other animals.

 

Notably, elephant rides are a major attraction at Amer Fort. All the elephants are painted with traditional patterns and they carry tourists up and down the steep slope at the fort.

PETA in its petition filed in Rajasthan court stated that these rides are illegal as none of the elephants used are registered with the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) and this a violation of The Performing Animals (Registration) Rules, 2001, framed under The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

The petition further read that it is also against the order of the government of Rajasthan which mandates that permission from the AWBI is required for using elephants in any film, serial, advertisement, function, sport, event, exhibition, fairs or any other type of performance, including rides.

However, the petition was filed by PETA days after AWBI inspectors in Rajasthan released a report which said that elephants offering rides to tourists at the Amer Fort suffer from blindness and tuberculosis and are often forced to carry loads heavier than 200 kg.

Last month, the animal rights organization had also sent legal notices to Rajasthan's Department of Archaeology and Museums and Forest Department asking them to stop illegal elephant rides.