Raju, the elephant who wept after being released from chains is facing more misery – after his owners have launched a legal battle to win him back.
The creature captured the hearts of people from around the world when he cried as he was freed from chains after 50 years, and was taken to join five female elephants at Wildlife SOS’s Elephant Conservation and Care Centre in India.
‘We are starting a Raju Legal fund that will help us fight such legal battles to protect Raju and elephants like him that suffer in silence. One of Raju’s friends Laxmi Elephant who was rescued by Wildlife SOS from Mumbai suffers a similar fate where her previous owner is claiming her back as property.’
The creature captured the hearts of people from around the world when he cried as he was freed from chains after 50 years
‘By the time we found him he was in a pathetic condition. He hadn’t been fed properly and tourists started giving him sweet food items and because he was in a state of hunger and exhaustion he began eating plastic and paper He had no shelter at night, and was being used as a prop to beg with from dawn until dusk or being used for giving tourists joy rides. And most heartrendingly of all – the chains that cut into his legs had been there for 50 years. It was horrific.
‘It took us 45 minutes to remove the shackles that had torn into the flesh on his legs for the past 50 years – an act of unthinkable cruelty.
Raju’s story first came to light in July this year when the Harrow-based charity Wildlife SOS-UK along with their counterparts, Wildlife SOS India, rescued him in a daring midnight operation in India
The creature captured the hearts of people from around the world when he cried as he was freed from chains after 50 years
Raju still faces years of treatment to heal both the physical and psychological wounds from his time in chains