The Many Faces of Elephant Suffering Around the World

Today, on World Elephant Day, we honor the majesty and magic of elephants around the world. We strengthen our resolve and commitment to protect them at the hands of human beings- their most dangerous threat.

Elephants are astonishing. Earth’s largest land mammals are intelligent, socially complex, emotionally aware beings. These gentle giants live in multi-generational families and share ancestral knowledge across vast social networks through time and space. They celebrate their births, they mourn their dead, and they never forget those who harm them, nor those who help them.

Elephants have evolved over millions of years to live freely in the wild, yet today, elephants continue to be under siege. In parts of Africa, Asia, India, the US and even Canada, many elephants are held in exploitive situations. We must be their voice.

Join us today in increasing awareness of the issues elephants are facing worldwide, and the ways in which we can help to educate others and protect these incredible animals from the threats they face from humans, including:

1)    Ivory Poaching-AFRICA – the brutal, savage murder of elephants for their tusks for the ivory trade

2)    Zoo Captivity -USA and the WORLD – inadequate exhibits, chronic captivity diseases, and false rescue missions in the wild sold as conservation, leave elephants dying decades before their wild relatives

3)    Circuses and Fairs – USA and the WORLD – tortuous training methods and recurring abuse in a domination/deprivation cycle of control by trainers

4)    Tourist Rides – USA and the WORLD – elephant have their spirits and wills broken in training so tourists can have a quick thrill ride

5)    Religious Festivals - ASIA & INDIA - “temple elephants” are chained, beaten, tortured and exploited for money in the name of religious tradition

6)    Trophy Hunting – AFRICA – big game hunters pay big money for the thrill of the kill

7)    Captive Breeding – USA and the WORLD- elephants endure invasive procedures to force conception and birth for the baby elephant business

8)    Stealing From the Wild – AFRICA, ASIA and INDIA- abducting elephants from their families and wild homelands to be sold to zoos, circuses and the tourist trade

9)    Logging Industry – ASIA- elephants are forced to haul logs in forest operations, and are routinely abused as beasts of burden

10) Rental Companies – USA – vulnerable elephants are “rented” out as props for the entertainment business, parties, weddings, and to anyone else who will pay

11) Human/Elephant Conflict Due to Habitat Loss – ASIA, INDIA, AFRICA- as human    populations increase, wildlife habitat is rapidly decreasing, causing deadly confrontations between elephants and humans

Help protect elephants by learning about how extraordinary they are! Speak out for them and never support elephant exploitation of any kind, including those forms of abuse listed above.