Monday, November 26, 2012

Wildlife Laws: Should India learn something from Bangkok's Smiling Elephant Law

India should probably take a cue from countries that actually work on wildlife laws rather than just legislate on them.

There is a law in Thailand that is called as the ‘Smiling elephant’ law. People who are caught feeding the elephants will be fined and may even face a prison sentence of up to six months. 'Begging' elephants are common in Thailand the the authorities are taking a tough stand by passing such stringent laws to curb the same. 
Another instance is that of the Hagenbeck's Tierpark that is well known for taking care of elephants for over a century. It is also recognized for keeping animals in a carefully prepared environment. The keepers have brought out a handbook that is based on their experience while handling elephants and other animals in the Park. 
Such initiatives are not forthcoming in India and perhaps not documented in the first place because most of the mahouts and keepers in Parks are not encouraged to document their findings in the first place. Thus, we lose considerable first hand data and reporting that can be useful for understanding and improving India's wildlife laws.

3 comments:

Mridula said...

Thanks for sharing! Had no idea about such laws and they do make sense!

R. Ramesh said...

sanandji..nice to hear fm u..u and famly are always in our mind and v wish v could maake it to delhi again for another gettogether..spl wishes to junior..the masti guy...the post is gr8..i go with mridula on that...

Felicity Grace Terry said...

How intriguing to think that such laws exist, the nearest we get is the law banning feeding pigeons which many consider flying rats who spread all manner of disease.