Kathmandu – In light of the cancellation of this year’s Chitwan Elephant Festival because of the coronavirus pandemic, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) rushed a letter to Prime Minister Oli this morning asking him to use this opportunity to end the festival permanently because it causes elephants tremendous suffering.
At the last two editions of the festival, PETA documented that mahouts relentlessly beat and jabbed elephants with sticks and makeshift wooden knives and violently yanked their ears in order to force the animals to race, give rides, and “play” polo and football. One elephant was beaten for nearly a minute, and many animals sustained deep, bloody wounds. The footage can be viewed here, here, and here.
“By permanently ending the Chitwan Elephant Festival, Nepal would be taking a meaningful stand for gentle elephants by refusing to continue to allow them to be exploited for stupid stunts,” says PETA Senior Vice President Jason Baker. “The festival is an abusive spectacle, and Prime Minister Oli must relegate it to the history books without delay.”
In the letter to the prime minister, Baker writes, “Moving forward, ethical tourism could bolster the rebound of Nepal’s flagging tourism industry. The municipalities that sponsor the Chitwan Elephant Festival could attract tourists by investing in a sanctuary where elephants could retire and mahouts could maintain employment. Animal sanctuaries elsewhere have been extremely successful. For example, the Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary in Thailand has a long waiting list for anyone wanting to visit. People pay to watch elephants there at a safe distance – the animals don’t give rides and aren’t forced to play unnatural games, and visitors aren’t allowed to feed them.”
After learning about the cruelty, several sponsors have pulled their support of the festival, many businesses have stopped promoting it, and over 150,000 people have called for the event to end via PETA and its international affiliates’ campaign pages.
PETA’s letter to Prime Minister Oli is available here.
