Paul McCartney Comes to Aid of Abused Indian Elephant
Paul McCartney Comes to Aid of Abused Indian Elephant
London – Worldwide music legend and long-time PETA supporter Sir Paul McCartney has sent an urgent letter to Indian Union Cabinet Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav requesting that he take immediate action to send abused elephant Jeymalyatha (also known as Joymala) to a suitable rescue centre, where she can begin to recover from the psychological trauma of sustained abuse.
The elephant has been held captive by the Srivilliputhur Nachiyar Thirukovil temple in Tamil Nadu, where she’s been chained to the floor. In a viral video, she can be seen screaming in pain as she is mercilessly beaten with weapons in two separate incidents and controlled with various weapons including pliers.
In the letter (available here), McCartney notes, “I am confident that action will be taken to send sorely abused elephant Jeymalyatha (Joymala) to a suitable rescue centre where she can receive the specialized care she needs for her psychological wounds, and can live unchained and in the company of others of her kind.”
He added that while the videos of her beatings are heartbreaking, “equally heartbreaking is that this social, intelligent animal is still being forced to live in solitary confinement”, highlighting that, in nature, female elephants live in a family herd.
McCartney’s letter follows PETA India’s plea and veterinary inspection report on Jeymalyatha’s condition. The report points out that Jeymalyatha’s current handler (mahout) used pliers on her skin, even in front of inspectors. The mahout forbade the inspectors from taking photographs and video footage, but they still managed to document her condition. The inspection was conducted after two separate viral videos emerged, one in June 2022 and the other in February 2021. A video compilation of Jeymalyatha’s abuse can be viewed and downloaded here.
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.uk or follow the group on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Contact:
Jennifer White +44 (0) 20 7837 6327; [email protected]
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