More than fifty young people gathered in Jaipur on World Environment Day to raise awareness about elephant welfare, wildlife conservation, and the importance of keeping wild animals where they belong—in the wild.
Youth Voices for Wildlife
Young Changemakers Call for an End to Elephant Rides
The children also delivered spontaneous speeches as part of an extempore event where they highlighted the need to keep all wild animals in the wild, including elephants. It was poignantly brought to the forefront that the captive elephants of Amer Fort in Jaipur are not meant for rides and entertainment, but are suited for a wild existence, where they belong. The children drew images of animals in the wild and in captivity, highlighting the stark contrast of their lives in these situations. The drawings of the children will be delivered to the Chief Minister of Rajasthan requesting him to adhere to the concept of keeping wild animals in the wild on the occasion of World Environment Day and end elephant rides in Amer Fort in Jaipur.
Why Elephants Matter to the Environment
On World Environment Day, we recognize the vital importance of elephants to the environment. Elephants are vital ecosystem engineers that maintain and regenerate ecosystems through seed dispersal, habitat clearing, and nutrient recycling. By eating, crushing, and moving vegetation, they promote the growth of diverse plant life and capture atmospheric carbon. Elephants consume vast quantities of fruit. As they travel long distances, they deposit these seeds in nutrient-rich dung, effectively planting new forests. Some plant seeds actually require passing through an elephant's digestive tract to germinate. They trample dense brush and eat smaller saplings. This clears competition and opens up canopy gaps, allowing larger trees to absorb more sunlight and store significant amounts of carbon. As they roam, elephants create paths, dig deep wells to tap underground water, and knock down vegetation, providing smaller animals with access to food and water.
The Reality Behind Elephant Rides
Unfortunately elephants are killed for their ivory, become victims of human wildlife conflict and are illegally captured for human entertainment and subject to tortuous training processes to make them amenable for rides. Speaking on the occasion, Tricia Croasdell, Chief Executive Officer of World Animal Protection, said, “The event today is an important one for building understanding of how best to protect elephants. Elephants, like all wild animals, are not suited to close, hands-on encounters with people. They belong in the wild, not in captivity or for riding at venues like Amer Fort in Jaipur. Seeing elephants in real life can be a dream come true for many people, but to protect their welfare, we must watch elephants from a distance, in their natural habitat, or at a true sanctuary. I encourage everyone to research before booking elephant activities and spot the signs of elephant exploitation, such as captive breeding and unnatural performances. I am buoyed by the fact that so many children will be involved today, using art and speaking about why we need to 'Keep Wildlife Wild' – a huge thank-you from me for helping to spread this important message.”
India's Heritage Animal Deserves Freedom
Gajender Kumar Sharma, Country Director of World Animal Protection in India, emphasised the importance of keeping elephants wild and not letting them be abused in captivity. “India’s National Heritage Animal belongs in the wild where they are an integral part of the environment. They do not belong in Amer Fort in Jaipur for rides and entertainment. We request the Chief Minister of Rajasthan to listen to the voice of India’s future and end elephant rides in Jaipur and retire the elephants,” he said.
What We Witnessed at Haathi Gaon
Behind the Tourist Experience: The Reality for Captive Elephants
There was also an opportunity to observe the captive elephants of Haathi Gaon during this occasion and the visit revealed atrocities continue toward captive elephants to keep them in control for human entertainment. Elephants are not only continually being used for rides in Amer Fort, during the time they are not in Amer Fort, they are used for rides in Haathi Gaon and adjacent farmhouses, where they are also used for paintings, close up photo sessions and feeding sessions. There is also evidence that the elephants are regularly beaten as part of their management procedures to keep them under control, and that their freedom is restricted to the daily routine of rides and their time at Haathi Gaon. There are signboards that showcase Haathi Gaon as a shelter for elephants but it would be more accurate to describe the place as a recreation and entertainment centre. Elephant rides are being sold from a price of Rs.1500/ to Rs.2500/- and form a major attraction for foreign tourists, many of whom are unaware of this cruel spectacle that perpetuates the continual removal of elephants from the wild and their brutal training process in captivity that perpetuates this vicious circle of capture of wild elephants to feed the captive elephant establishment.
Wildlife is Not Entertainment
From Elephant Rides to Camel Rides: Every Animal Deserves Better
Alongside elephants, dromedary camels were also observed near Jal Mahal, offering rides to visitors, and their suffering is also very evident. All animals, domestic or wild, are part of the environment, and the daily suffering of any animal, be they, elephants, camels, chickens or any other creature, great or small, diminishes the quality of the environment morally and ecologically, because each creature has a role to play in the complex tapestry of life that is part of our environment.
A Better Model for Wildlife Tourism
Jhalana's Leopards Show That Ethical Tourism Works
A beautiful and majestic sighting of a wild leopard in Jhalana Leopard Reserve in Jaipur brought to mind the sharp contrast between the regular abuse of captive wild animals like elephants in Amer Fort in a UNESCO World Heritage City that is Jaipur and the sublime grace and ethereal charm of wild animals enriching their home environment right in the middle of the same city in Jhalana. The leopards and the associated tourism surrounding them in Jhalana point to the fact that it is entirely possible to have non intrusive, natural, non abusive, and non detrimental wildlife tourism in a heritage area.
Every Day Should Be World Environment Day
World Environment Day is not just 5th June, every year, as it has come and gone by in 2026, it is each day, every day and every day bears testament to the principle that guides us : wildlife belongs in the wild.