ENP, Thailand
Posted by: twayla | Under: živali | (2) Comments
Taken from ENP:Lek Chailert, of the Elephant Nature Park Thailand, is currently under attack once again, for speaking out against the treatment of elephants in her homeland and beyond.The issue this time has to do with breeding programs and what she has referred to as no less than forcible confinement and rape. A female is most often chained 4 legs to posts while mahouts stand by to insure her passivity through the ordeal. They will use hooks, knives or sharpened poles to keep the female in a ‘willing’ position. The male will mount her repeatedly, and sometimes multiple male partners. The females are often injured in the process, suffering broken hips.It is a travesty, but to speak of this practice is apparently taboo. Lek just days ago has received death threats. She has been vilified in national papers, radio and television. Government officials attack her reputation, as well as private citizens. It is said that she lies and that she staged an event to profit from the publicity - and yet the very mahouts who carry out these acts confess to it as common and acceptable practice. So now the officials turn on her as damaging the country by ‘bad press’, tarnishing their national image and weakening tourism. She was told that she should retract and not speak of this.Another person, who has worked with Lek for years and has been a great supporter of the ENP project, Antoinette van de Water, is also under attack, and her VISA status threatened to be removed. Lek is seeking legal action in all of this to prove her innocence in the charges laid against her, and to protect her friend from dismissal from the country. In all of this she speaks plainly and truthfully on behalf of the Asian elephant, and she will not quit. As anyone who knows her will testify, though diminuitive in stature, she is a lion’s heart!comments?The immense abuse of animals really makes me sick. I believe there is no excuse for such behavior and am determined to make a difference by the time I pass away from this life! Seems I have a lot of work to do for the next 60 years or so! Tara
