"Crushing" an elephant means totally breaking its spirit, and preparing it for a life of slavish servitude to humans. You know this is cruelty, don't you?
Add your name if you want to ban this abusive practice, NOW!
Have you heard of "crushing"?
"It's a way of deliberately breaking the spirits of animals so humans can use them. Crushing involves tying up and literally beating an elephant into submission," said The Dodo.
The things they do are heartbreaking...
They described it like this: "men beat and terrorize a wild-caught baby elephant in a cage over the span of days."
"Tourists may think activities like riding an elephant do no harm, but the brutal truth is that breaking these animals' spirits to the point that they allow humans to interact with them involves cruelty at every turn," said Dr. Jan Schmidt-Burbach, senior wildlife and veterinary adviser at World Animal Protection.
There are only 38,000 to 50,000 Asian elephants globally, according to this article from The Dodo...
And they are listed as "endangered" on the IUCN Red List.
12,000 of them are captives, The Dodo continued.
The worst part is, these endangered animals are being captured from the wild.
According to this Traffic report, the market value for a healthy baby elephant is $33,000.
"The ramifications of seizing elephants from the wild and thrusting them into the captive industry are very significant, according to Simon Hedges, co-chair of the IUCN/SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group.
"Hedges told The Dodo that "one of the main threats to elephants in their main remaining habitat blocks in Thailand is ... the illegal captures for the trade in live elephants," reported The Dodo.
The path forward is clear.
This abuse must end.
No animal should ever have to suffer this way for the sake of human entertainment and profit, and especially not a species that is endangered.
But getting this abusive practice of "crushing" elephants is going to take international organization, and a unified effort from all nations that are home to wild elephants.
That's why we're calling on the Asian Parliamentary Assembly to get the job done.
Don't you want to stop this cruel, heartless practice of beating baby elephants into submission, to prepare them for lives of limitless suffering?
Then add your name ask the Asian Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Environment to spearhead a movement across the continent to enact powerful measures to put an end to the exploitation of elephants, before it's too late!
