Pakistan to relocate lonely elephant Kaavan to Cambodia sanctuary

ISLAMABAD (AFP): The High Court today (Saturday) has approved the relocation of a lonely elephant to Cambodia after the elephant became the centre of a high-profile rights animals’ campaign backed by music star Cher.

The elephant – Kaavan – was kept in chains at Islamabad Zoo and exhibited symptoms of mental illness, prompting global outrage over his treatment.

A petition was filed in the Islamabad High court demanding his release that garnered over 400,000 signatures. In this regard, the court ordered Kaavan’s freedom and instructed wildlife officials to find him a ‘suitable sanctuary’.

In today’s (Saturday) hearing, Authorities told that an expert committee had recommended he be moved to a 25,000-acre wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia for retirement. The chairman of Islamabad Wildlife management board, Anis Ur Rehman, told an international news agency, “The court has agreed with the proposal.”

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

Activists in this regard said that the elephant’s behaviour, including signs of distress such as bobbing his head repeatedly, demonstrated a kind of mental illness. Activists also said Kaavan was not properly sheltered from Islamabad’s searing summer temperatures, which can rise above 40 degrees Celsius.