VICTORY: Abused Amer Fort Elephant Malti Sent to a Sanctuary for Rehabilitation, Following Vigorous PETA India Campaign
Following a recommendation by the High–Powered Committee (HPC) of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, elephant Malti (“ride no 44”) has been transferred to the Vantara elephant sanctuary in Jamnagar, where she will live free from abuse and in the company of other rescued elephants. The recommendation was based on an independent veterinary expert assessment commissioned by the HPC as a result of a complaint filed by PETA India citing Malti’s deteriorating physical and mental health – as supported by an opinion signed by 120 veterinarians confirming her anxiety and investigation reports showing that she exhibited behaviour such as repetitively swaying and bobbing her head.
Malti was used for tourist rides at Amer Fort even though she has a history of running amok and fighting with another elephant, after which she was violently beaten by eight men at Amer Fort in 2017 and verbally abused and hit with sticks in 2019. PETA India had also called for her rescue in Amer magistrates’ court.
Malti, the elephant, was beaten by eight men for up to 10 minutes as she tried to escape the misery of carrying tourists uphill in extreme heat.
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— PETA India (@PetaIndia) August 12, 2021
Malti was used for rides even though the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) recorded that she was “anxious”, putting tourists at risk. In 2018, an AWBI report further noted that her ownership certificate was invalid and her welfare was compromised, since her toenails were overgrown, cracked, deformed, and discoloured; the cuticles around her nails and in the interdigital space were overgrown, dry, and cracked; her foot pads were thin, uneven, and bruised; and her blood profile indicated eosinophilia (an increase in the number of eosinophils in the blood that occurs in response to some allergens, drugs, and parasites) and neutropenia (the presence of abnormally few neutrophils in the blood, leading to increased susceptibility to infection).
Virat Kohli and his wife, Anushka Sharma, had also condemned Malti’s plight and called for her rescue.
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