Illegal trade of elephants during Sonepur fair needs to be stopped

Every year, beginning on the day of Kartick Poornima, the world famous Sonepur fair takes place in Bihar. Last year around 14 elephants were brought here for display. In the Sonepur fair, the elephants suffer enormous amount of pain due to wounds and constant public probing adding to the distress. These animals are often without requisite papers and are often caught from the wild whereby they undergo a brutal training process to break them into human submission. 

There are reports that these elephants have been bought by traders in Kerala, Nepal and Rajasthan. The elephant is listed in the schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act of India, 1972 and is also revered in Indian culture. We have written to the Chief Minister of Bihar to take whatever possible action to ensure that the illegal trade of elephants that takes place in the Sonepur fair is stopped. Wildlife belongs in the wild.

#WildlifeNotEntertainers