open-the-cages: I beg of you to spread this message far and wide. Please keep the public aware. For those who like to holiday abroad, I urge you to read this article.  In Thailand, asian elephants are widely used as a form of entertainment, in festivals and as modes of transport.  These elephants do not naturally accept a human on its back, just like any wild animal. They are frightened. They want to be free.  Groups of men go out looking for babies, who are small enough to be managed easier and can be ‘broken’ much quicker than adults. When they spot a suitable candidate they rope it by the neck. The mother and other females in the herd will of course try valiantly to protect the baby, and are murdered in the process.  After watching the horrors of its family be shot down in front of it, the baby elephant is dragged off into a remote location of the forest. It is chained, roped and hidden from the view of the public. This is where the ritual ‘Phajaan’, begins. The elephants usually go through this around 7 or 8 years of age. The baby’s mother is removed from the area before the ceremony as the young elephant screams for her. Villagers rope the elephant’s legs, which isn’t easy and terrifying for the elephant. The young elephant is ushered into a tiny cage like a corral.The elephant is bound and unable to move at all and is left like this for many days, crying out for help and absolutely terrified. This isn’t the worst. The worst is the torture that comes along with being bound up. Villagers drive sticks with nails into the elephants flesh; they have trouble retracting the nails from the tough hide. The villagers laugh while the elephant bleeds and cries out for help that is not coming.In the video a man sits on the elephant and drives a sharpened hook into the skull of the elephant, right between its eyes. The thudding noise is sickening. The man has to work the hook back and forth to remove it from the skull of the elephant.He tells the elephant, speaking in Thai, ‘Don’t fight us and we won’t hurt you.’ While he does this he lifts the hook and spits on it and again drives it into the elephant’s skull. This happens to the elephant for days, people jab it in the ears with sharpened hooks, in the legs and so forth. The animal is left sleep deprived, not fed or given water and is petrified. They apparently do this as a 90 year old elder said; “Only one way to do this, not any other,” he explains firmly. “If elephant doesn’t go though this, elephant can’t be tamed.” The young elephant is eventually released from the cage but not the torture; it will be tied up and beaten to a pulp. All this is to make them submissive to their owners.A century ago there were apparently 100,000 elephants in Thailand, now it is believed that there are around 2,500 wild and 2,500 domestic elephants left.Sadly for a country that is meant to love these animals so much its laws are sadly lacking. Years ago laws were meant to have been toughened but still nothing has been finalized.Domesticated elephants are considered livestock, like a buffalo, chicken and so forth. For abuse this brings only a very small fine. A renowned elephant activist here in Thailand who is doing amazing things for abused, maimed, and abandoned elephants. She witnessed and also filmed an owner who was drunk set the elephant on fire and burnt it to death. The man was never fined or punished for this act of cruelty. So when you are in Thailand and see what I call ‘sympathy elephants’ begging for food and performing tricks; remember that they more than likely went through the horrible separation ritual called ‘Phajaan’. I don’t care that this isn’t reptile related, read this please.

open-the-cages:

I beg of you to spread this message far and wide. Please keep the public aware. For those who like to holiday abroad, I urge you to read this article. 

In Thailand, asian elephants are widely used as a form of entertainment, in festivals and as modes of transport. 

These elephants do not naturally accept a human on its back, just like any wild animal. They are frightened. They want to be free. 

Groups of men go out looking for babies, who are small enough to be managed easier and can be ‘broken’ much quicker than adults. When they spot a suitable candidate they rope it by the neck. The mother and other females in the herd will of course try valiantly to protect the baby, and are murdered in the process. 

After watching the horrors of its family be shot down in front of it, the baby elephant is dragged off into a remote location of the forest. It is chained, roped and hidden from the view of the public. This is where the ritual ‘Phajaan’, begins.

The elephants usually go through this around 7 or 8 years of age. The baby’s mother is removed from the area before the ceremony as the young elephant screams for her. Villagers rope the elephant’s legs, which isn’t easy and terrifying for the elephant. The young elephant is ushered into a tiny cage like a corral.

The elephant is bound and unable to move at all and is left like this for many days, crying out for help and absolutely terrified. This isn’t the worst. The worst is the torture that comes along with being bound up.

Villagers drive sticks with nails into the elephants flesh; they have trouble retracting the nails from the tough hide. The villagers laugh while the elephant bleeds and cries out for help that is not coming.

In the video a man sits on the elephant and drives a sharpened hook into the skull of the elephant, right between its eyes. The thudding noise is sickening. The man has to work the hook back and forth to remove it from the skull of the elephant.

He tells the elephant, speaking in Thai, ‘Don’t fight us and we won’t hurt you.’ While he does this he lifts the hook and spits on it and again drives it into the elephant’s skull.

This happens to the elephant for days, people jab it in the ears with sharpened hooks, in the legs and so forth. The animal is left sleep deprived, not fed or given water and is petrified. They apparently do this as a 90 year old elder said; “Only one way to do this, not any other,” he explains firmly. “If elephant doesn’t go though this, elephant can’t be tamed.”

The young elephant is eventually released from the cage but not the torture; it will be tied up and beaten to a pulp. All this is to make them submissive to their owners.

A century ago there were apparently 100,000 elephants in Thailand, now it is believed that there are around 2,500 wild and 2,500 domestic elephants left.

Sadly for a country that is meant to love these animals so much its laws are sadly lacking. Years ago laws were meant to have been toughened but still nothing has been finalized.

Domesticated elephants are considered livestock, like a buffalo, chicken and so forth. For abuse this brings only a very small fine.

A renowned elephant activist here in Thailand who is doing amazing things for abused, maimed, and abandoned elephants. She witnessed and also filmed an owner who was drunk set the elephant on fire and burnt it to death. The man was never fined or punished for this act of cruelty.

So when you are in Thailand and see what I call ‘sympathy elephants’ begging for food and performing tricks; remember that they more than likely went through the horrible separation ritual called ‘Phajaan’.


I don’t care that this isn’t reptile related, read this please.

120 notes
Posted on Thursday, 26 July
Reblogged from: herpfr3ak
Posted by: open-the-cages-deactivated20121
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    You don’t even know how bad I wanna hurt those people… If I ever saw them I would jump on those assholes and kill them…...
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    Dammit, Thailand. I’m disappointed in you.
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