Water for elephants abuse

Film Elephant Tai 'Given Electric Shocks'

An organisation which works to protect animals has claimed the elephant used in the film Water For Elephants was beaten and given electric shocks.

Animal Defenders International (ADI) has released footage it claims was filmed six years ago at Have Trunk Will Travel, the company which supplied the 42-year-old Asian elephant.
The organisation said it showed elephants, including Tai, repeatedly being given electric shocks with hand-held stun guns and that they were beaten about the body and legs.

It also claimed Tai cried out when shocked into performing a headstand and that a baby elephant was hooked in the lip and cried out.

Water For Elephants, starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson, tells the story of Rosie, played by Tai, being brutally attacked by a circus owner.

Producers, stars and trainers insisted Tai was treated with kindness and positive reinforcements during the making of the movie.

American Humane, a group which campaigns to end animal and child abuse, observed the animals used during the filming.

It awarded the movie its highest rating and said that every animal in the production "from a four-ton elephant to tiny fly larvae" were treated humanely and kept safe.

ADI sent copies of the DVD of the alleged abuse to the film's stars and makers.

Chief Executive Jan Creamer said: "I believe that Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson will be horrified to learn what Tai went through."

A statement on the film's website said the makers, 20th Century Fox, spent three hours touring the Have Trunk Will Travel facilities and meeting staff.

It said they "never once witnessed any abuse or even heard a verbal command given to the elephants that was above a whisper."

The website also quotes from the official statement by the animal trainers.

It says: "Animal rights extremist groups are using Tai's role in Water for Elephants as a vehicle to take advantage of her celebrity to further their efforts to remove elephants and all exotic animals from entertainment.

"The video shows heavily edited and very short snippets, obviously taken surreptitiously six years ago, purporting mistreatment of our elephants. If there was truly any abuse going on, why wait six minutes, much less six years?"

Last month, footage of Anne, the last elephant with a British circus, was released by Animal Defenders International.

It apparently showed her being abused and led to her being re-homed at Longleat Safari Park.

Source : Yahoo News