Abused Indian Elephant Sundar to be Freed from Cruelty and Released to Sanctuary!

Fourteen-year-old Indian elephant Sundar has been suffering in captivity for the last seven years. In 2007, an Indian legislator named Vinay Kore gave Sundar to the Jyotiba Temple as a gift, however Sundar has since been subjected to numerous beatings and has constantly been kept in chains, knowing nothing other than cruelty.

According to PETA, “Sundar’s beatings had been caught on videotape, and veterinarians and elephant experts who examined him found him scarred and wounded and chained so tightly that he couldn’t life down.”

In August 2012, the Maharashtra Minister of Forests Dr. Patangrao Kadam and the Project Elephant division of the Ministry of Environment and Forests “issued orders for Sunder’s release to a sanctuary” but these orders were never realized and Sundar was simply placed out of view in an old poultry shed where he “remained chained,” as PETA reports.

Thankfully, Sundar’s life will no longer be marked by fear, stress and pain thanks to a new landmark judgment carried out by the Honorable Bombay High Court. Just today, the court ruled to free Sundar from his abusive situation and move him to a sanctuary.

Hooray!

PETA India along with celebrities Paul McCartney and Pamela Anderson have spent the last 21 months campaigning for Sundar’s freedom and now, after nearly two years of hard work, a victory has been achieved!

PETA reports that Sundar will be released to the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Bangalore where he will get to live the life he has always deserved — one filled with proper care, comfort and love.

Now that this landmark ruling has been reached, PETA India is calling on the Maharashtra Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Sarjan Bhagat “to implement the court’s order quickly before Sundar can be harmed again.”

Hopefully we will see Sundar at his sanctuary home very soon, enjoying life with other beautiful rescued animals. What a wonderful sight that will be!

Image source: PETA India