Editing Elephant (section)

===Working animal===
{{further|Captive elephants}}
[[File:Elefant pune.jpg|thumb|Working elephant as transport]]
Elephants have been [[working animal]]s since at least the [[Indus Valley civilization]] over 4,000 years ago<ref>Sukumar, p. 57.</ref> and continue to be used in modern times. There were 13,000–16,500 working elephants employed in Asia in 2000. These animals are typically captured from the wild when they are 10–20 years old, the age range when they are both more trainable and can work for more years.<ref name=Shoshani149 /> They were [[Mela shikar|traditionally captured with traps and lassos]], but since 1950, [[sedative|tranquillisers]] have been used.<ref>Wylie, pp. 120–23.</ref> Individuals of the Asian species have often been trained as working animals. Asian elephants are used to carry and pull both objects and people in and out of areas as well as lead people in religious celebrations. They are valued over mechanised tools as they can perform the same tasks but in more difficult terrain, with strength, memory, and delicacy. Elephants can learn over 30 commands.<ref name="Shoshani149">McNeely, pp. 149–50.</ref> Musth bulls are difficult and dangerous to work with and so are chained up until their condition passes.<ref>Easa, p. 86.</ref>

In India, many working elephants are alleged to have been subject to abuse. They and other captive elephants are thus protected under [[The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act,1960|The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960]].<ref>{{cite web |author1=Bist, S. S. |author2=Cheeran, J. V. |author3=Choudhury, S. |author4=Barua, P. |author5=Misra, M. K. |title=The domesticated Asian elephant in India |publisher=Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific |access-date=25 December 2012 |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/ad031e/ad031e0g.htm |archive-date=1 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150601060613/http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/ad031e/ad031e0g.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In both Myanmar and Thailand, [[deforestation]] and other economic factors have resulted in sizable populations of unemployed elephants resulting in health problems for the elephants themselves as well as economic and safety problems for the people amongst whom they live.<ref>{{cite news |author=Fuller, Thomas |title=Unemployed, Myanmar's Elephants Grow Antsy, and Heavier |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/world/asia/myanmar-logging-elephants-unemployment.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/world/asia/myanmar-logging-elephants-unemployment.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=30 January 2016 |access-date=31 January 2016 }}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/ad031e/ad031e0r.htm |title=The elephant situation in Thailand and a plea for co-operation |author=Lohanan, Roger  |date=February 2001 |access-date=31 January 2016 |publisher=[[FAO]] |archive-date=4 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404162525/http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/ad031e/ad031e0r.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The practice of working elephants has also been attempted in Africa. The taming of African elephants in the [[Belgian Congo]] began by decree of [[Leopold II of Belgium]] during the 19th century and continues to the present with the [[Api Elephant Domestication Center|Api Elephant Domestication Centre]].<ref>Smith, pp. 152–54.</ref>