Chennai : People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has jumped to the aid of pachyderm Chinna Thambi asking the Tamil Nadu government to keep the elephant in its natural forest home. The animal rights body said the government should take only humane, scientific methods to protect crops and villages or to translocate him to another forested area, if necessary.

Citing the example of how Africans save themselves from elephants, the animal rights body asked the government to ask the farmers to grow chillies along the perimeters of their agricultural fields. These would ensure elephants wont destroy crops, the Peta said.

The Peta asked the government to issues guidelines regarding the adoption of effective, compassionate methods for dealing with human-elephant conflicts – including appropriate urban planning that protects or restores forestland – and advised that African farmers have successfully kept elephants away from crops by planting chilies (which can be harvested and sold) around farm perimeters.

“Keeping elephants in captivity is inherently cruel, as they are forced to obey commands under threat of violence, fear, and pain,” says PETA India Emergency Response Assistant Neha Chaturvedi. “The natural habitat of Chinna Thambi and other elephants must be conserved and restored, and the state government should work with villages to protect crops by planting chilies and adopting other humane measures.”

Last week the Madras High Court advised that Chinna Thambi not be subjected to any physical discomfort. It also expressed concern that earth movers are being used to lift tranquilized, captured elephants and that Chinna Thambi previously sustained injuries, including broken tusks, during his capture and failed translocation.