Elephant Festival: Is it really Independence Day for India's elephants?

  • 2 years ago
It may be Independence Day for India, but are India's elephants independent? At the Gaj Mahotsav, Vivek Menon, of the Wildlife Trust of India, says though it might not happen soon, elephants may one day no longer be captive in the country. Akbar, in the 16th century, had 32,000 elephants in his stable. And in the early 1800s there were believed to be some 40,000 captive elephants. India now has between 3,500 to 4,000 captive elephants, many in Kerala. And though there is legal protection for elephants, there are also many legal loopholes that make it hard for the government to restrict elephant ownership.

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