Fri, 29 Mar 2024 Today's Paper

Pakistan to relocate lonely Sri Lankan elephant Kaavan to Cambodia

By

19 July 2020 10:18 am - 8     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A A A

A Pakistani court approved the relocation of a lonely and mistreated elephant to Cambodia on Saturday after the pachyderm became the subject of a high-profile rights campaign backed by music star Cher.

Kaavan was kept in chains at Islamabad Zoo and exhibited symptoms of mental illness, prompting global outrage over his treatment and a petition demanding his release that garnered over 400,000 signatures.

The capital's High Court ordered Kaavan's freedom in May and instructed wildlife officials to find him a "suitable sanctuary".

Authorities told a Saturday hearing that an expert committee had recommended he be moved to a 25,000-acre wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia for retirement.

"The court has agreed with the proposal," Anis Ur Rehman, the chairman of Islamabad Wildlife management board, told AFP on Saturday.

Zoo officials have in the past denied that the Kaavan was chained up, instead claiming he was pining for a new mate after his partner died in 2012.

But his behaviour -- including signs of distress such as bobbing his head repeatedly -- demonstrated "a kind of mental illness", Safwan Shahab Ahmad of the Pakistan Wildlife Foundation told AFP in 2016.

Activists also said Kaavan was not properly sheltered from Islamabad's searing summer temperatures, which can rise above 40 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit).

Kaavan's plight drew the attention of Cher, who spent years calling for his freedom.

She tweeted in May that the court's decision to order his release was "one of the greatest moments of my life".

Arriving in Pakistan as a one-year-old in 1985 from Sri Lanka, Kaavan was temporarily held in chains in 2002 because zookeepers were concerned about increasingly violent tendencies.

He was freed later that year after an outcry but it emerged in 2015 that he was once more being regularly chained for several hours each day.

Government minister Malik Amin Aslam said authorities would "free this elephant with a kind heart, and will ensure that he lives a happy life".

The court's May ruling also ordered dozens of other animals -- including brown bears, lions and birds -- to be relocated temporarily while the zoo improves its standards.


Order Gifts and Flowers to Sri Lanka. See Kapruka's top selling online shopping categories such as Toys, Grocery, Kids Toys, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Clothing and Electronics. Also see Kapruka's unique online services such as Money Remittence,Astrology, Courier/Delivery, Medicine Delivery and over 700 top brands. Also get products from Amazon & Ebay via Kapruka Gloabal Shop into Sri Lanka

  Comments - 8

Order Gifts and Flowers to Sri Lanka. See Kapruka's top selling online shopping categories such as Toys, Grocery, Kids Toys, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Clothing and Electronics. Also see Kapruka's unique online services such as Money Remittence,Astrology, Courier/Delivery, Medicine Delivery and over 700 top brands. Also get products from Amazon & Ebay via Kapruka Gloabal Shop into Sri Lanka
  • Raj Sunday, 19 July 2020 10:33 AM

    As a child this elephant has been mistreated and we now expect it to have a happy life after 35 years! Only humans want to see animals but for animals "human" is a Keep Away item!

    Sokrates Sunday, 19 July 2020 10:41 AM

    What about the chained elephants in the Dehiwala Zoo? It is a shame and a crime how elephants are treated in the zoo and specially by crooked monks in the temples.

    Ajith Sunday, 19 July 2020 10:50 AM

    Will Sri Lankan authorities ever learn from their ghastly crimes against innocent animals?

    BuffaloaCitizen Sunday, 19 July 2020 10:50 AM

    Excellent move, don't even send it to Sri Lanka bcos over here the biggest abuse to elephants are done by Sinhalese Buddhists

    Animal Lover Sunday, 19 July 2020 11:21 AM

    What a pity? Even elephants are having to be international nomads.

    Sammy Sunday, 19 July 2020 02:12 PM

    They don't even treat humans properly there, especially minorities. How can animals be expected to be treated well there!

    Kim Sunday, 19 July 2020 06:17 PM

    A very good glance at this picture tells a very sad story about the current mental condition of this elephant. Look at the bulging eyes and the skin of this pachyderm. It speaks volumes about the suffering and mental agony he had endured to be chained most of it's life and ruin his precious life for ever. He deserves all the love and care he can get in his new home in Cambodia.

    Bhatiya Siriwardena Monday, 20 July 2020 08:31 AM

    Don't donate elephants


Add comment

Comments will be edited (grammar, spelling and slang) and authorized at the discretion of Daily Mirror online. The website also has the right not to publish selected comments.

Reply To:

Name - Reply Comment





Order Gifts and Flowers to Sri Lanka. See Kapruka's top selling online shopping categories such as Toys, Grocery, Kids Toys, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Clothing and Electronics. Also see Kapruka's unique online services such as Money Remittence,Astrology, Courier/Delivery, Medicine Delivery and over 700 top brands. Also get products from Amazon & Ebay via Kapruka Gloabal Shop into Sri Lanka

VAT increase: SOUNDs death knell for publishers, readers

Though the Government imposed VAT (Value Added Tax) on vegetables and other e

How female change-makers are driving Sri Lanka’s energy saving platform

Saving energy has become more of a responsibility than a habit in today’s c

A dull Ramadan awaits Muslims amidst the Soaring Cost of Living

In the coming days, Muslims across the world will welcome the Holy Month of R

New wildlife underpass to curtail HEC

As of February 2024, Sri Lanka lost another 38 elephants as a result of the H