Action Alerts

Help Sunder Finally Gain Freedom

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests SWH Naqvi has still not transferred Sunder, a 13-year-old elephant who had been chained for years at the Jyotiba Temple in the Kolhapur district of Maharashtra, to the sanctuary in Karnataka that has been identified for him by PETA – despite Maharashtra Minister of Forests Dr Patangrao Kadam's order calling for Sunder's release. Naqvi has the responsibility to follow the Minister's order but seems to lack the will to do so. It is thought that Sunder has been hidden by temple authorities in a dark, heavily guarded poultry shed behind a dairy facility.

Sunder has been denied freedom of movement, and on the rare occasions when he was taken for a short walk at the temple, he was kept in spiked chains. Because of the abusive treatment at the hands of his mahout, Sunder was found by PETA with wounds all over his body and a damaged eye.

Elephants are highly intelligent and social animals. In nature, they spend around 18 hours a day walking, feeding, bathing in watering holes and interacting with other elephants, and females live in close-knit family groups for life. Elephants held in captivity are separated from their families as babies and are sentenced to a lifetime of confinement, boredom, loneliness and abuse. Constantly kept in chains, many exhibit signs of mental illness, including repetitive swaying, rocking and head-bobbing. The chains also cause painful wounds and pressure sores, which often become infected. The lack of exercise and the years spent standing on hard concrete amid their own waste lead to painful and crippling foot ailments and arthritis. The severe confinement has led Sunder to act out in frustration, creating a risk for temple authorities and visitors.

Please help PETA in urging authorities to immediately transfer Sunder to the sanctuary in Karnataka that has been identified for him by PETA.

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