A 70-year-old elephant was forced to parade during a religious ceremony despite poor health
A 70-year-old elephant, debilitated and malnourished, covered in drapes and forced to parade despite poor health conditions.
The chilling images of the animal were disseminated by the Save Elephant Foundation.
The elephant, in an evident state of suffering, she was forced to march along with 60 other elephants during the Perahera Festival in Sri Lanka.
This is Tikiiri, a 70 year old ailing female. She is one of the 60 elephants who must work in the service of the…
Posted by Save Elephant Foundation – Elephant Conservation Foundation on Tuesday, August 13, 2019
The Buddhist ceremony involves the use of elephants engaged in slowly parading with them paws tightened by chains and body covered with masks and colored fabrics which hide a disconcerting spectacle.
In the photographs in fact the elephantess Tikiri appears thin, debilitated, literally skin and bones: her conditions did not, however, stop the organizers from letting her participate in the parade for ten consecutive days, at the end of which the animal did not make it and collapsed to the ground, exhausted from fatigue.
Tikiri update. Please pray for her. It is too tiring for her to walk and work. On the day we met her the vet said she…
Posted by Save Elephant Foundation – Elephant Conservation Foundation on Thursday, August 15, 2019
Save Elephant Foundation calls for steps to be taken to protect elephants and to put an end to the exploitation of animals during ceremonies.
The association has launched a campaign to collect signatures that has already obtained over 30.000 members to ask the Sri Lankan government for measures and laws that prohibit the torture and abuse of animals.
Read also:
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- Botticelle in Rome: “enough with the exploitation of horses”. Collected 5000 signatures
Tatiana Maselli
Photo Credit: Save Elephant Foundation
