Elephants are highly intelligent, emotional animals who require living free in lush jungle homes for their mental and physical well-being. In nature, their home ranges can be up to 800 square kilometers—areas in which they roam, explore, forage, and swim. Female elephants especially thrive in family groups. They form deep bonds with their multi-generational family members and lovingly raise their young.
In contrast, elephants used in films, shows and advertisements face extreme loneliness and severe cruelties. These majestic animals are subjected to being controlled with weapons, live nearly constantly chained, and are deprived of their natural behaviors and environments.
Baby elephants are often captured from the wild or bred in captivity and separated from their mothers and families to be used for entertainment. This early separation causes severe trauma, as young elephants are dependent on their mothers and family groups for many years. During prolonged violent training, they are subjected to harsh methods to break their spirits and to force them to obey. Ankushes (hooked iron rods), prods, and other painful tools are commonly used.
Elephants used for films face the additional stress of noisy sets, bright lights and relentless retakes for the right shots on top of the confinement and routine weapon use common in the handling and training of captive elephants. Worse still, they are often kept alone and deprived of any social interaction with their species. Many captive elephants develop severe life-threatening physical ailments from being forced to live nearly stationary on concrete and psychological issues from isolation and abuse. As a result, many captive elephants lash out and kill their mahouts or others around them.
The elephant is India’s national heritage animal. The use of elephants in films, shows and other entertainment diminishes the respect these animals deserve, and contributes to their abuse and distress. Misrepresentations of these animals contribute to a lack of understanding about their needs and can lead to increased demand for elephants in cruel, captive situations.
How can you help?
Take the Elephant Freedom Pledge to declare that your film studio, ad agency or production company will not use real elephants going forward. Instead, use life-like mechanical elephants or other non-animal means to entertain audiences.