Bhubaneshwar: Following Orissa High Court’s observation that machinery or elephants for pulling chariots would prevent a large number of people from gathering for Jagannath Rath Yatra, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) stepped in stop the state government from doing so.
PETA India urged Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to leave elephants out of the festival now and in the future too, citing their suffering and the public health risk. It said the use of these animals poses in the form of tuberculosis. PETA India had presented a Hero to Animals Award to Patnaik In April for allocating Rs 54 lakhs to feed community animals during lockdown.
In a letter to the CM, PETA India pointed to a paper published by the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology – a premier research organisation operating under the aegis of the central Ministry of Science & Technology – explaining the shortcomings. The research body said elephants experience extreme stress when they’re made to participate in long, tiring processions, often leading to infertility, hyperglycaemia and suppression of immunity.
“Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the public is now more concerned than ever about the risk of disease transmission from animals to humans,” says PETA India CEO and veterinarian Dr Manilal Valliyate.
“We are thankful to the honourable chief minister for caring for community animals during the lockdown and hope he will now extend his compassion to elephants in order to protect everyone’s health.”
Scientists overwhelmingly believe COVID-19 first infected humans through wildlife at a Chinese live-animal market.
A 2018 Animal Welfare Board of India evaluation report on captive elephants used for rides in Jaipur states that 10 per cent of them were found to be reactive for TB. A scientific study of 600 elephants in South India indicated a high prevalence of asymptomatic M tuberculosis infection.
Another study found human-to-elephant and elephant-to-human transmission of M tuberculosis between mahouts and captive elephants. In addition, a recent paper confirmed TB infection caused by reverse zoonosis in three wild elephants in South India.
PNN
