Bangladeshi court bars adoption of wild elephant

DHAKA — A Bangladeshi court on Sunday barred the adoption of elephants from the wild, a move hailed by animal rights activists as a "landmark" order to help stop the cruelty.

Rights groups said the high court order suspending licenses will stop the torture of captive Asian elephants in the name of training.

"The high court today suspended all licenses for the captive rearing of elephants," Amit Das Gupta, deputy attorney general of the country, said.

Bangladesh was once one of the major homes for Asian elephants.

But poaching and habitat loss saw their numbers dwindle.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature says there are nearly 100 captive Asian elephants in Bangladesh, nearly half the number left in the wild in the country.

As logging and farming encroach on elephant territory, young animals are captured in the country's northern and southeastern hills.

The forestry department had previously issued licenses to logging groups who use the elephants to drag tree trunks, or to circus groups, to adopt the animals. But Gupta said the elephants were being exploited and used for begging and "street extortion", breaking the license terms.

Animal rights activists said the suspension would end often brutal training, known as "hadani".

"This is a landmark order," said Rakibul Haque Emil, head of the animal rights group People for Animal Welfare Foundation in Bangladesh.

Agencies via Xinhua