PHOTOS: ‘Elephant’ and Other Activists Protest Abuse at Nepal’s Chitwan Elephant Festival
Today, an “elephant” and other PETA activists stood outside Nepal’s Department of Tourism to protest the cruel Chitwan Elephant Festival, which is being held in Nepal, where elephants are abused for human entertainment.
At last year’s event, PETA recorded video footage showing handlers repeatedly hitting and jabbing elephants with bullhooks (weapons that resemble a fireplace poker with a sharp hook on one end), sticks, and makeshift wooden knives on their heads and sensitive ears in order to force them to race, give rides, and “play” football and polo. One elephant was beaten for nearly a minute, and many animals sustained deep, bloody wounds.
After hearing from PETA and its affiliates, all the festival’s sponsors cut ties with the event, but the Regional Hotel Association Nepal–Chitwan continues to organize it.
