Why might an elephant's "must" be an important topic to research when judging the narrator's decision?

The term "must" or "musth" is the male Elephant experiencing a surge of hormones to mate. This is natural to the species so chaining the Elephant up is really like torture. One can argue this is a cruel and inhumane practice.

It was not, of course, a wild elephant, but a tame one which had gone “must.” It had been chained up, as tame elephants always are when their attack of “must” is due, but on the previous night it had broken its chain and escaped. Its mahout, the only person who could manage it when it was in that state, had set out in pursuit