India bans elephants from Mumbai

Elephants -- long revered in India as symbols of wisdom and good fortune -- are no longer allowed in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay.The state government has banned domesticated elephants from India's largest city, saying that forcing the animals to walk the city's chaotic, crowded and polluted streets was an act of cruelty.

"We want to keep the poor elephants off city roads. It is sad to see them walking with traffic going past," said Shree Bhagwan, a senior official in the Maharashtra state forestry department.

The ban, India's first, took effect last week, Bhagwan said.