Bangladesh elephants receive historic court protection with capture ban

Animal rights groups welcome ‘landmark’ order to protect elephants

A court in Bangladesh in a landmark order suspended issuing and renewal of licenses to adopt elephants from the wild.

A high court bench of justice Naima Haider and Justice Kazi Zeenat Haque passed the order on Sunday following a preliminary hearing of a writ seeking to stop the adoption of wild elephants in an effort to protect them from exploitation.

Nearly half of the 200 elephants in Bangladesh are kept in captivity and employed in circuses or used for begging.

Bangladesh was once home to the majority of Asian elephants, but poaching and habitat loss led to a sharp decline in their numbers, prompting authorities to declare elephants in the country critically endangered.

The petition, moved by People for Animal Welfare and Bangladeshi film actor Jaya Ahsan, reportedly highlighted the inhumane treatment of captive elephants, which prevailed despite efforts by activists.

The Forestry Department, which issues licenses for the adoption of elephants to logging groups and circuses, had promised to address the abuse of the animals. The elephants were used for begging and "street extortion" in violation of the terms of the license.

Sunday's court order was welcomed by animal rights groups, who said the suspension would end the brutal training process to domestice the wild tuskers known as "hadani".

"This is a landmark order," said Rakibul Haque Emil, head of the PAW.

"In this name of training elephants, private licensees including circus parties brutally separate elephant calves from their mother, shackle them for months and then torture them to teach tricks," he said. "We hope it is the end of hadani in Bangladesh."

The plight of the captive elephants was highlighted in May last year when a young elephant, used for begging on the streets, was killed by a train.

"Thank you Barrister Saqeb Mahbub and The Team! You are such a good soul. Hope your work will show the dawn to the Elephants," wrote Ms Ahsan on X.

In May last year, a captive young elephant used for begging on the streets was killed by a train, triggering public outrage.