The death of Chanchal, the elephant painted pink in Jaipur, has renewed scrutiny on using captive elephants for commercial tourism activities, with prominent NGOs Wildlife SOS and Peta calling for an end to humans riding jumbos. ADVERTISEMENTThe organisation has launched a campaign, “Refuse to ride”, calling on the global community to advocate for India’s elephants and urging tourists to be more informed. Wildlife SOS painted a far grim picture. We are calling on the global community to become informed advocates for wildlife,” the organisation claimed. According to wildlife experts, making an elephant rideable starts with a long and brutal process called ‘phajan’, which involves separating an elephant calf from its mother.

Source: The Telegraph April 11, 2026 10:17 UTC