Unruly elephants, high on rice beer, sentenced to death

Unruly elephants, high on rice beer, sentenced to death

New Delhi: Two wild Asiatic elephants, who wreaked havoc in a northeastern Indian state and killed 12 people after getting drunk on rice beer, have been sentenced to death, a news report said Sunday.

The wildlife department of India's Assam state has declared the two tuskless male elephants "rogues", and hired a hunter to kill them before the end of the month, the Economic Times newspaper reported.

Dinesh Choudhury, the hunter, said it pains him to pull the trigger.

"I have been to the location twice and spotted the two elephants, both about nine feet tall. I am giving the elephants some time to reform," he said.

The elephants had gone on a rampage in Sootea, an area which is around 240 kilometers north of state capital Guwahati.

"The two elephants have been smashing down huts, crashing through fields and trampling people as they move around looking for rice brew," said farmer Madhav Deka.

Villagers insist the elephant menace was serious, endangering lives and property. One villager, Bhogiram Das, said, "It is better to kill the two elephants that are responsible for all the problems here."

Not everyone agrees.

"We don't want the elephants to be killed. People like us have forced the animals to go on a killing spree," said school teacher Narayan Hazarika.

Hunter Choudhury said he would have to kill them if they went on another rampage.

Widespread deforestation and human encroachment compels herds of elephants to move across states. They often raze entire fields of precious crops, killing farmers who get in their way.

Around 5,500 of India's 10,000 elephants live in Assam, the Economic Times said. In the past two years, nearly 100 people have been killed by elephants in Assam alone. --DPA