Animal lovers seek justice for elephant killing

Animal lovers in the capital formed a human chain to demand that those responsible for the death of elephant be held accountable.

They brought up the demand today in front of the capital's Agargaon forest department office, alleging negligence on the side of the department.

The tragic death of an elephant calf that was crushed to death by a railway in Uttara yesterday served as the catalyst for the protest. The calf was left unattended because the mahout was using the mother elephant to extort money from people.

Rakibul Haq Emil, the founder of PAW (People for Animal Welfare), joined the human chain and demanded an end to the private ownership of elephants.

"We urged the forest department not to issue anymore licence for private ownership of elephant as it creates the scope for the abuse of the majestic animal. Forest department must publish a list of people who own elephants and hold them accountable in case of any death resulting from negligence."

The protesters demanded the arrest of the concerned mahout. 

Abdul Awal Sarkar, conservator of forests (admin), stated that a delegation made a request to him.

"We will publish the list of elephant owners by June 15, and will take action that is possible within our capacity," he said.