Paul McCartney Urges Indian Official to Rescue Abused Elephant (VIDEO)
For Immediate Release:
September 13, 2022
Contact:
Robin Goist 202-483-7382
On the heels of two disturbing videos showing an elephant named Jeymalyatha screaming in pain while being ruthlessly beaten by various handlers on separate occasions, Sir Paul McCartney has sent an urgent letter on behalf of PETA India to the Indian government requesting that officials move her to a reputable rescue center immediately.
“I have considered India a spiritual place ever since I travelled there in the 1960s. I was impressed by India’s cultural love for animals,” McCartney writes. “I know India reveres elephants, its national heritage animal, but cruelty to animals happens everywhere, even in India. What reflects on a country’s values is how that cruelty is addressed.”
He goes on to denounce not just the beatings but also the solitary confinement in which Jeymalyatha is being kept, a condition that is especially cruel since elephants in nature form strong bonds and live in matriarchal family herds.
“I trust you agree that Jeymalyatha has suffered more than enough, and that she deserves to spend the rest of her time on this Earth away from her abusive trainers, rehabilitating, and with others of her kind,” McCartney concludes.
PETA India recently submitted a veterinary inspection report to Indian officials, pointing out that Jeymalyatha’s current handler used pliers on her skin right in front of inspectors. Shockingly, the beatings occurred in the innermost part of a religious temple, the holiest of places.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
