Ban elephants in school parades- Let’s protect our children and animals

The Elephant is the acclaimed “star’ of Sri Lanka’s wildlife. Majestic and magnificent, elephants should live in the wilds, foraging, browsing, bathing, playing in rivers, roaming vast territories, and being herd animals, socializing. But, elephants are increasingly seized from their natural habitats and end up in captivity heavily chained and exploited for human benefit - hired to tourist resorts for rides, gifted as symbols of goodwill between Sri Lanka and foreign states to live in zoos in strange climatic conditions, kept shackled as status symbols in private backyards, forced to run races at Sinhala New Year festivals, play polo or engage in circus acts for human entertainment, greet VIPs at political events, pose for photos for a fee, even in temple premises, add novelty to wedding ceremonies, and more. All exposing the animal to immense harm and suffering.

And now adding to this list, is a recent trend -using elephants in school parades.

Elephants parading in peraheras is an ancient custom of religious significance and unavoidable. However as conservationists and activists say, even in such instances, the animal’s welfare should be assured. Captive Elephant Regulations approved by the government, lay down that elephants under five years should not be used for any purpose, including peraheras; when caparisoned for pageants their ears should be uncovered, since heat is released through their ears and in illuminating, LED bulbs should be used to prevent electrocution.

As this columnist commented to a daily newspaper last year, “Parading elephants is fun for people, but certainly not for the animal. Recently we have witnessed elephants participating in some school parades, especially during their “Big Match” revelry. When using elephants for these parades, there are two aspects of concern – the cruelty caused to the animal and the high public safety risk.

“Looking at the cruelty aspect, these majestic animals who are a part of our proud heritage, are heavily chained and forced to walk in the scorching sun on burning, asphalted roads. This causes great pain and suffering to the elephant and is a violation of our Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance. Elephants have to be trained for performances – even parading is a performance. Training methods are often cruel with the elephant being shocked, whipped and beaten with the bull hook.As for the risk factor, elephants essentially belong to the wilds and according to experts, however well trained, they are unpredictable. When stressed they can strike back against humans. Noisy parades with crackers and drums, vehicular traffic and crowds can cause stress and make the elephants run amok with tragic consequences, both to human and animal. During parades, there are no barriers between the animal and the public. In Sri Lanka, in the past, we have seen such tragedies during pageants where people have been killed or injured and property damaged. Such incidents have occurred elsewhere in the world too. In some countries there are laws that require a licence to parade elephants along public streets. A lesser known factor is that elephants are common carriers of TB and can transmit the disease to humans.”

As elephants are given to individuals or temples on the condition that they should be used only for religious or cultural purposes,giving them for school parades is unlawful.

In 2015, when an elephant was taken in procession at a “Big Match” cycle parade of Royal College, Colombo,a group of past pupils, on an initiative of Nadika Hapuarachchi, wrote to the then Principal expressing concern about the risks of parading elephants in public, but the following year saw no change. Photographs taken that year show an elephant draped with the college flag,with even the Principal seen in the photo. However wiser counsel appears to have prevailed and no elephant has since been used. Recently, when St. Joseph’s College, Colombo was preparing to parade an elephant at the College Walk, animal rights activists succeeded in halting it by explaining the dangers to the Old Boys Union (OBU). As one OBU member informed this columnist, the organizers were inundated with calls from activists, urging them to refrain from parading the elephant. The reason for the plan, he said, was to make the children get over their fear of large animals and a lack of awareness of the possible catastrophes. However, rather than waning due to growing awareness of the hazards, more schools are joining the bandwagon – the latest entrant to this perilous folly is Colombo’s Dudley Senanayake MahaVidyalaya.

In India, where elephants are paraded at poorams, a festival dedicated to Hindu Goddess Durga, there are rules balancing public safety and elephant welfare - mandatory public liability insurance, a prohibition in parading sick, injured or pregnant elephants and a requirement of keeping a minimum of three metres between the animal and the spectators. In Meerut, an elephant used for a wedding ceremony ran amok when gun shots were fired as part of the celebrations. In Amritsar, two politicians riding an elephant during a protest against inflation were prosecuted for violating wildlife protection and animal cruelty laws.

Duncan McNair, CEO of “Save The Asian Elephants” refers to a 2015 public opinion poll in the UK, where 86.8% opined that it is unjustified to use elephants in tourist trekking and entertainment.

The authorities must seriously address the risk and cruelty aspects in parading elephants in public. Animal and Child Rights activist Christine Perera, has requested the National Child Protection Authority to consider pursuing with school authorities, a ban on using elephants at school events.

When elephants are paraded at school events, most children are unaware of the ensuing cruelty. Adults must inspire children to be kind to animals, not promote a culture of cruelty.

The Trustees of the Kirulapone Jumma Masjid will hold a free medical camp in collaboration with the Kirulapone Police from 9 a.m. today, Sunday, November 5 at the Kirulapone Jumma Masjid at High Level Road, Colombo 6.

Open to all, the camp will offer a wide range of facilities and medical services covering

For all who fancy the glamour and rich culture of India, this is the exhibition and show you cannot miss. The Hi Life exhibition at the Cinnamon Lakeside on November 6, 7 and 8 brings together 80 of India’s finest designers from Mumbai, Delhi, Paediatrics, Gynaecology, Mammogram screening for early detection of breast cancer, Ophthalmology, Blood tests and any other general medical needs.

In addition to the free check-up, the clinic will also offer free gift vouchers to pregnant mothers in order to help them on their journey towards motherhood. Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Jaipur and Hyderabad under one roof in a fashion extravaganza .

From bridal apparel, traditional outfits, ethnic jewellery and accessories, the range is stunning.

Religious leaders of all faiths will be in attendance.

“We wish to thank the generous efforts of all of those who are volunteering their time and effort to make this free medical camp a reality, including all medical professionals,” Roomy Rahim, Trustee, Kirulapone Jumma Masjid said.

The Colombo Chapter of the Alumni Association of the University of Peradeniya will hold its annual family get-together on Sunday, November 12 at the ecofriendly Bird Park, Buthgamuwa Road, Kalapahuwa, Rajagiriya from 10 a.m. All alumni of the Peradeniya University are invited.

Many activities, games, competitions, prizes and surprises have been planned, with Music by Jayalath Manoratne, Nissanka Diddeniya and others.

Lunch tickets are available with committee members and at the gate on the day.