Evolve! Stop chaining elephants! Do not tell tourists that you are an wildlife sanctuary when you clearly are not!

Elephant cruelty is rampant in India. Baby elephants are taken from their mothers and then routinely beaten and coerced to "behave" so that they may be "trained" to perform tricks and cooperate with tourists who pay to have their photo taken with them, ride on top of them, and bathe with them. The elephants suffer enormously and have no freedom whatsoever. They are confined to small spaces and wear heavy chains around at least one of their feet. Some of these chains have spikes that dig into their skin painfully. Elephants in India are also used as temple props, made to endure extreme temperatures, loud crowd noises, heavy loads of ornamentation, and beatings if they don't cooperate, none of which is pleasant for the elephant, to say the least. Indeed, elephants in India cannot be worshiped nor should be disrespected in this way. They are treated inhumanely. There are laws in India dictating that elephants in captivity must be "managed" to remain in designated areas, hence the chains. These laws are outdated!

This "wildlife sanctuary" promotes safari tours to view wild animals, while at the exact same time, encourages tourists to also spend time with chained elephants by riding them, having photo shoots with them, and bathing them. If you go to their website, you will see photos and videos of these activities. Notice the horrific elephant chains in clear view! They are shameless! Tourists are encouraged to go to this place that is located 4 hours away from most 5 star hotels, and are then overwhelmed by the scorching heat and the pressure to ride these elephants.

It is time Elephant Junction seriously think twice about the message it sends to the world about how to treat elephants. We believe that if they cannot care properly for their elephants by allowing them to live in the wild in their wildlife sanctuary terrain, then they should not own elephants at all.

We believe that Elephant Junction in Thekkady, Kerala is a tourist trap, at the expense of the elephants that are paying too high a price with their very lives! On a recent trip to India, some western tourists reported extreme heat conditions at Elephant Junction yet little to no water for the elephants. Chained elephants rocked back and forth, listless and miserable. Elephants were seen trying to gather and eat small amount of green leaves thrown on the ground that was just out of their chained reach, and no water in sight. None of the elephants looked well or healthy. It's time high time Elephant Junction send their overworked elephants to sanctuary! There is plenty of terrain in Thekkady and this business has their own terrain as well.

Elephant Junction needs to evolve and stop chaining their elephants to dupe tourists into paying to ride them, bathe them, and take photos with them! Instead, we are asking Elephant Junction to create a plan to turn their business into a true wildlife sanctuary, one that would gain respect throughout the world, where elephants are treated with love or set free.

You should sign this petition because elephant abuse is an enormous problem in India, and business like Elephant Junction should know better. We want them to know that we are not amused, that we know better, and that we know that elephants should never be chained, confined, beaten, coerced, and separated forcefully from their families.

When signing this petition, please add a comment directed to Elephant Junction to help them understand that what they are doing is wrong. We believe that this is no way to treat elephants in India! We want Elephant Junction to know that we will never visit them until all their wildlife is set free!