Thousands of captive elephants endure a lifetime of inhumane treatment due to the demands of uninformed tourists
If you love elephants, consider how your actions either hurt or help elephants in captivity. Spreading awareness and educating fellow travelers to take Compassionate Action for Elephants will create a better world for the elephants in captivity, for their caregivers, and for those still living in the wild.
It may seem exotic, but in reality it is just plain cruel
Stolen from their families, confined without free access to food, water, and rest, and forced to undergo sustained and systematic abuse, trekking/temple/circus and tourist elephants are suffering shells of what they used to be. What they endure behind the scenes simply does not need to happen.
Putting the needs of the elephant before the "need" for a selfie
If your vacation plans include having an elephant experience, make sure you’re supporting truly ethical sanctuaries by only visiting or volunteering with organizations that place the needs of the elephant before the desires of your holiday. It’s up to each one of us to Rise Up, Speak Out, and re-create a world where loving elephants means letting them BE elephants.
Let your bucket list create a better world for elephants!
Elephants in captivity are not going away, and animal lovers can be a part of the problem or a part of the solution. If the elephant is made to do behaviors you wouldn’t see in the wild, then don’t support organizations making them act that way for you. If freedom in the wild is not an option, then the freedom to express their natural behaviors is our responsibility.
What changes are we working for?
Until keeping elephants captive is a thing of the past, we ask for, at the very least, humane treatment via the Five Freedoms for Animals in Captivity:
- Freedom from hunger and thirst
- Freedom from discomfort
- Freedom from pain, injury and disease
- Freedom from fear and distress
- Freedom to express normal behaviors
Our ultimate goal is for no elephant to be held captive in temples, circuses, or any inhumane conditions. As much as we wish this could happen overnight, there are many pieces of the historical, cultural, financial, and political puzzles which must be put into place, as well as the funding and building of sanctuaries around the world until elephants are unchained for good.
Reach out your hand in compassion by sharing #NotOnMyBucketList, and help spread awareness and positive change for them all.
Write #NotOnMyBucketList on your hand and take a picture. Share your “hashtag hand” on social media, adding “Elephant Cruelty is #NotOnMyBucketList!”
Tag “Heart of Ganesh”, and make sure your IG account is public so we can see your post, then we’ll re-post your share, spreading the word twice as far. Thank you for reaching out your hand to create a kinder world for elephants!
