NY Times Spotlights Suffering of Elephants in India

Undercover footage and documentaries have exposed the animal-entertainment industry in the US, but it isn’t just American circuses and Sea World theme parks that are facing public scrutiny. The New York Times recently wrote a lengthy exposé on the use of elephants in India for festivals and the hardships they endure as they’re forced into grueling work schedules. “Although … captive elephants are controlled using force, their primary hardship isn’t the beatings,” notes the NYT. “It’s how little their lives resemble what they were before they were captured.” Currently there is a tight-knit group of watchdog activists striving to reduce the elephants’ suffering through reporting abuses to federal authorities, but the animals’ increasing popularity among local residents has made it difficult.