According to British newspaper Daily Mail, Tikiiri – a 70-year-old female elephant with a thin body and weak health – was forced to perform with 60 other elephants during the Perahera festival in Sri Lanka. The haunting photo of Tikiiri was shared by the Save Elephant organization to mark “World Elephant Day” on August 12.
During the 10-day Buddhist festival of Perahera, the animals are decorated in elaborate costumes and paraded with countless other performers, including dancers, artists and musicians.
“Tikiri participates in the parade that lasts from dusk until late at night for 10 consecutive days, amid cheers of excitement, bustling scenes of fireworks and smoke,” Save Elephant organization shared on its website. Facebook.
On the outside, Tikiiri is charmingly decorated with a splendid costume decorated with sparkling flower lights, but no one knows that inside is the tired, exhausted appearance of an elephant that has lived for more than 7 decades. Photo: Dailymail.“No one sees its skinny, exhausted body behind that gorgeous outfit. No one can see the tears and wounds behind the decorative lights and cannot know the difficult steps of being shackled,” the organization shared. “Why can we consider this a blessing festival, or a sacred festival when we are making other lives suffer?”.
Tikiiri works for the Temple of the Tooth in the city of Kandy (Sri Lanka). The Save Elephant organization is calling on viewers to petition the prime minister to end animal cruelty.
“We cannot bring about a peaceful world for elephants if we still think this photo is acceptable. Buddhist teachings always teach people to be kind and compassionate to all living things. More than ever, this is the time for us to practice that,” Daily Mail quoted the content of the Save Elephant organization posted on Facebook.
About 3,000 elephants are used for entertainment in Asia. Photo: Dailymail.Many people who witnessed the photo said they were extremely saddened by humans’ mistreatment of Tikiiri.
“For this lovely animal to be mistreated and abused at work shows that humans consider themselves superior species… This abuse must stop and I will petition the Sri Lankan government.” , one person commented.
“I hate what we are doing, this is terrible. I cried when I saw this photo. Tikiiri needs to go to a carefully protected area to live the rest of his days,” one account shared.
According to estimates, there are about 3,000 elephants used for entertainment in Asia, with 77% of them being treated poorly. More than 800,000 Australian tourists visit Thailand each year, many drawn here because they can ride elephants, feed them and watch them perform.
“Our mission is to save Asian elephants from extinction and give domesticated elephants a healthy life by preserving their habitat and raising public awareness about their treatment practices. humanitarian”, Save Elephant Organization shared.