Union minister Maneka Gandhi has requested Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena to take measures to release an elephant chained for 67 Years and send it to an elephant orphanage.
In a letter to the President, Maneka Gandhi, an animal rights activist has written that many in Sri Lanka have reached out to her about the “plight of Bandula” who is in chains for last 67 years, NDTV reported.
“Sri Lanka is such a gentle and beautiful island. It seems out of character to treat the elephant this way,” the minister said in her letter.
There have been reports in the Sri Lankan media about bleeding wounds on Bandula’s fore limbs, due to heavy chains for years.
The minister requested the President to send the elephant to the Ridiyagama safari Park to “live free”.
She said India has banned elephants in zoos because they showed so much stress when chained and many even went mad and asked the president Sirisena to take the same decision for all the seven elephants in the National Zoo.
“Elephants have same sensitivities as humans,” Minister Maneka Gandhi wrote.
