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After a four-year pause brought about by PETA Asia’s campaigning and widespread public outcry, abusive elephant games at Nepal’s Chitwan Elephant Festival are set to return this month. Elephants used for polo "games," rides, shows, and other forms of entertainment are typically deprived of everything that's natural and important to them and suffer tremendously.
PETA Asia's investigation footage shows elephants who were forced to participate in the festival being repeatedly struck and gouged with bullhooks—weapons with a sharp hook on one end—and their ears being violently yanked. Handlers also beat frightened elephants with sticks and makeshift wooden knives. When these elephants aren't being forced to perform at this festival, they're used for rides by tourists visiting Chitwan. They're chained, beaten, and constantly threatened with violence to keep them afraid and submissive.
Elephants are highly social beings who thrive in matriarchal herds where they protect each other, care for their babies, and travel many miles a day. But when used for entertainment, their complex emotional states and multifaceted relationships are left in tatters. Using these majestic, endangered animals in foolish spectacles is shameful. Nepal should focus on protecting them in their natural habitats, not exploiting them for human amusement.
Please use the form below to urge the event organizers to cancel these cruel “games.”