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Breath-test mahouts before they ‘drive’ perahera elephants, activists say
View(s):Drunken mahouts who abuse elephants should face the full force of the law, animal rights activists said, pointing out that festival organisers sometimes ply mahouts with liquor in the belief that they work better in a state of intoxication.
The President of Sathva Mithra, Sagarika Rajakarunanayake, commended police who apprehended the drunk mahout at the Ratnapura Saman Devalaya last weekend after the man stabbed an elephant at the temple with a goad, prompting the animal to stampede in pain and fear, scattering festival goers in its path and causing a woman to have a fatal heart attack.
“The running of the elephant created a string of actions that resulted in the death of a woman due to a heart attack but I appreciate what the Ratnapura police did to minimise the damage by stopping the drunk mahout,” Ms Rajakarunanayake said.
She alleged most mahouts were drunk during festive season and that festival organisers gave them liquor in the belief that intoxicated mahouts gave better performances. The mahout responsible for the fracas at Ratnapura was produced before the Ratnapura Magistrate and remanded until September 28.
“I would like to propose that the police and the Wildlife Department carry out an alcohol test on the mahouts who take part in perehera festivals,” Ms Rajakarunanayake said. “The test must be done before and after the festival season because the elephants are on the roads and must be controlled properly, ensuring people’s safety.”
Environmentalist, Supun Lahiru Prakash of the Biodiversity Conservation and Research Circle, said all mahouts needed to be given proper training on handling elephants with priority given to the teaching of the tactics of veteran mahouts in order to control elephants without inflicting pain.
Elephant owners too should be held responsible if mahouts engage in cruel acts on the animals, the Circle’s Director, Ravindra Kariyawasam said, calling on the authorities to cancel an owner’s licence to keep elephants if good care was not provided.