Imagine a child ripped from its mother’s embrace, shackled in heavy metal chains, subjected to systemic starvation, and relentless beating until resistance gives way to fear. All its instincts utterly crushed and soul completely shattered—until what remains is not a child, but an obedient tool. This is how the traditional Hadani training of baby elephants unfolds, and disturbingly, it continues to this day. 

The child in training may not be human, but for an animal as exceptionally intelligent, deeply social, and fiercely bonded to family as an elephant, the pain, trauma, and loss are no less profound. Behind the spectacle of their captivity, the silent suffering remains largely unseen.

“Early separation from the mother and herd, followed by violent “breaking” methods locally known as Hadani causes profound and lasting biological, psychological, and behavioural harm,” mentioned Dr Reza Khan, eminent wildlife, zoo and safari park specialist with over four decades of experience of working in Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates. “Elephants are highly social and cognitively complex animals. Removing a calf from its family during critical developmental stages disrupts normal brain development, stress-hormone regulation, learning capacity, and social behaviour.”

Research shows that elephants subjected to such treatment frequently develop chronic trauma-like conditions, including persistently elevated stress hormones, abnormal fear responses and impaired social skills. Many show heightened aggression or extreme withdrawal and struggle to cope with unfamiliar situations. 

A mother and calf lost to cruelty

The human-inflicted suffering of captive elephants has once again come to light in the recent story of a seven-year-old calf named Birbahadur. Earlier in January 2026, a video went viral showing him shackled and beaten during Hadani training in Moulvibazar’s Kulaura Upazila, sparking nationwide outrage. Following intervention by the local Forest Department, Birbahadur and his 42-year-old mother, Sundarmala, were reportedly released into the Kalapahar forest.

However, this release proved largely symbolic rather than a genuine return to freedom. Releasing captive elephants into the forest without proper rehabilitation only exposed them to greater danger—and the consequences emerged just ten days later. 

Sundarmala was struck by a train in the Shibbari area of Sylhet. The collision shattered her spine, broke her legs, and caused massive internal injuries. She tumbled into a ditch and remained abandoned by her mahout and owner. She suffered for two days before dying, while her owner took no responsibility for her.  Her death left the young Birbahadur motherless, once again trapped in a system that treats captive elephants only as sources of income.

“The accident happened at around 10:00pm, but no assistance arrived for nearly 12 hours. An animal of this size lying in a ditch would never go unnoticed,” said Amirul Rajiv, animal rights and environmental activist and coordinator of the Bangladesh Tree Protection Movement. “Wild elephants can regulate their body temperature, but captive ones are vulnerable to cold. In places like Thailand, elephants are covered with thick blankets for protection. Sundarmala remained in cold water without any warmth, and even after being pulled out, no measures were taken to keep her warm. Moreover, chains were used around her neck to pull her out, which may have caused further internal injuries.”

According to experts, such emergencies should be handled exclusively by trained forest department officials. Instead, large crowds often gather at the site, worsening the situation. “Uncontrolled crowds only increase stress and panic for injured elephants,” Rajiv added. “What was needed was a swift, professional response from trained forest officials and immediate veterinary care.”

Regal giants reduced to mere ‘slavery’

Sundarmala’s death was not an isolated incident. In May 2023, another calf named Rajabahadur was killed at the Tongi rail gate in Dhaka. The mahout had tied the mother elephant near the railway tracks. Terrified by the sound of a passing train, the calf ran astray and was dragged to its death, while the mother was forced to witness her child’s gruesome death before being beaten and driven away from the scene.

Authorities failed to hold the owners accountable in either case, issuing no notices or pursuing justice. This lack of consequences allows abuse to continue unchecked, perpetuating a cycle of cruelty and neglect that repeatedly surfaces in incidents of elephants dying in train collisions, electrocution, and other forms of human–elephant conflict.

“When we talk about elephant conservation in Bangladesh, elephants are described as critically endangered—but nowhere is it stated that only wild elephants are critically endangered while private or captive elephants are not a concern. In reality, all elephants should be considered critically endangered,” emphasised animal rights activist, Founder and Chairperson of People for Animal Welfare (PAW) Foundation, Rakibul Haque Amil. 

While there is at least some discussion and effort—effective or not—around protecting wild elephants, captive elephants receive almost no attention. “Their deaths are often dismissed as matters of private losses, rather than conservation. It is time to formally bring captive elephants under the country’s conservation framework,” added Amil.

These critically endangered animals are subjected to multiple forms of exploitation.

Commercial use and extortion: Captive elephants are often forced to perform on the streets to solicit money or rented out for wedding ceremonies. Some groups involved in extortion also use elephants to illegally collect money from the public.

Mutilation for ivory: Male elephants sometimes have their tusks cut at the root for illegal sale, leading to severe infections, chronic pain, and long-term suffering.

Forced or unnatural breeding: Captive elephants are also often subjected to coercive breeding practices. “Forced breeding (mating) is essentially rape,” said Amil of the PAW Foundation. “Elephants are extremely selective. Female elephants do not mate indiscriminately; they carefully choose a bull, much like humans consider who can provide safety and security for her child, until it matures—sometimes up to 15 years.”

Unnatural breeding carries additional risks. “Captive breeding programmes typically rely on very few individuals, increasing hidden inbreeding and accelerating the loss of genetic diversity,” noted Dr Reza Khan. “Over time, this weakens disease resistance, fertility, and adaptability. Forced breeding may also favour traits unsuitable for survival in the wild, while diverting attention and resources away from genuine conservation efforts.”

Overwork and neglect: Many captive elephants are worked to the point of collapse and are sometimes underfed and dehydrated. An adult elephant requires around 100 litres of water a day, a basic need that is often denied. Numerous cases show elephants dying from exhaustion, a direct result of chronic neglect.

Breaking the chains of captivity: What must change

Although a High Court rule in February 2024 suspended the issuance and renewal of licences to adopt elephants from the wild following a writ petition, the ruling did little to improve the condition of elephants already in captivity. Forced breeding has continued, increasing their numbers—and with it, exploitation and suffering. 

Animal rights activists, wildlife biologists, and field experts stress the urgent need for an updated and publicly available discrete national list of all captive elephants, maintained by the Forest Department, to ensure proper tracking and prevent abuse. Furthermore, experts recommended:

• Immediately halting forced breeding and holding licensed owners strictly accountable for deaths, abuse, or neglect.

• Establishing a mandatory national registration system for all captive elephants, supported by microchipping, DNA profiling, and a transparent central database.

• Empowering authorities with adequate funding to conduct unannounced inspections, confiscate abused elephants, and bring captive elephants under conservation oversight.

• Revitalising the Wildlife Wing of the Forest Department with full-time wildlife biologists, adequate budgets, trained manpower, veterinary facilities, GPS and radio-collar systems, and proper elephant management infrastructure.

• Expanding government-supported ‘Elephant Response Teams’ nationwide to manage human–elephant conflict without violence.

• Strictly enforcing the Wildlife Management Order 2026, alongside meaningful penalties, habitat protection, community engagement, and a functional Wildlife Trust Fund.

Miftahul Jannat is a journalist at The Daily Star. She can be reached at [email protected]

Send your articles to Slow Reads for [email protected]. Check out our submission guidelines for details.