JAIPUR: Rajasthan High Court on Thursday issued notice to the state government and the Elephant owners' Development Society over alleged 'cruel and illegal elephant rides' at Amber Fort and Elephant Village (Hathigaon) in Jaipur.The court also sought reply from Animal Welfare Board of India and the Animal Welfare Division of ministry of environment, forests and climate change. They were asked to file reply by July 30. The division bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice G R Moolchandani issued order on a petition by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).PETA India's petition follows a report by inspectors authorised by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), who found that elephants were being used for rides at the historic sites even though they were suffering from serious ailments like blindness and tuberculosis (TB), which is transmissible to humans. Forcing unhealthy and abused animals to give rides endangers the lives of tourists, too, the petition said.In the petition, PETA India pointed out that these rides are illegal because none of the elephants used are registered with the AWBI, in apparent violation of the Performing Animals (Registration) Rules(PARR), 2001 - framed under The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 - and the 2010 order of the Rajasthan government mandating that any use of elephants in any film, serial, advertisement, function, sport, event, exhibition, mela, or performance - including rides - requires permission from the AWBI. Besides, the petition stated that the 2018 AWBI inspection report revealed that the elephants at Amer Fort are being forced to carry loads heavier than 200 kilogram, which is the legal maximum weight that they may carry on hilly terrain, as per the 2008 Guidelines for Care and Management of Captive Elephants issued by the Centre. The petition further pointed out that the weight of a 'howdah' - a seat used for riding on the back of an elephant - combined with the safety gear and one mahout alone is around 200 kilograms, so it's unlikely that the total load weight including tourists could ever be reduced enough to fall below the legal maximum on the hilly terrain of Amer Fort. The use of elephants for rides should, therefore, be eliminated entirely.

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