There are more than 2,500 captive elephants in India today and hundreds of these elephants are elderly or blind in one or both eyes.
Being a captive elephant in India is a difficult and lonely life. Captive elephants are used for entertainment or forced to give rides to tourists. This means long days walking on hot pavement and on busy streets. For a riding elephant, this also means heavy saddle carts packed with multiple people which can weigh hundreds of pounds.
These elephants are denied proper diets, access to fresh drinking water and basic medical care, as even these basic necessities can be too expensive or time consuming and would cut into profits for their owners. Significant medical ailments plague most of these elephants. This daily torture continues just so long as they can continue to walk, even if it's slowly, under great pain, and despite their failing health.
The abuse begins at a young age. Most of these elephants were poached from the wild as babies and physically tortured in order to 'break' them. They are denied even the simple pleasure of interacting with other elephants.
We are asking that mercy be shown to these elephants and that after decades of imprisonment, that all elderly and blind elephants be retired immediately so that they can live out their remaining days with freedom, dignity, and specialized veterinary care at an established and reputable sanctuary.
It is time that the government take action and move these elephants into retirement where they can receive the care they both need and deserve.
