Animal acts have been part of the circus and traveling show acts for decades, but only recently are people starting to consider that it might not be the right thing to do. These animals deserve better treatment, and they shouldn’t be separated from their families.

Some animals are captured at a young age, so they can be trained more easily.

They are forced to attempt impossible stunts, are sometimes starved and neglected and are often beaten for disobedience. These animals live in pain and fear all their lives, and it’s time that we all step up and do something about it.

An elephant named Suman is one of these unlucky animals. She was taken from her mother as a baby and has been held against her will for years. She cries for her mother constantly, and it is clear that she is not being cared for properly.

Elephants are very social animals.

They travel in large groups and protect each other. They care for their young as a group, and they communicate with each other to express their feelings. Elephants should not be alone, and the effects the solitary confinement has had on young Suman are devastating.

BK Singh, a retired Forest Department official, said in a statement:

“Keeping 6-year-old Suman locked up and not allowing her to be in bodily contact with her mother and family members is a crime. The owner does not have proper documents for these elephants. It is high time the Forest Department takes action and seizes Suman who can be shifted to the [Wildlife SOS] elephant rescue center in Mathura.”

Suman’s mother is also in captivity and has been bred to produce babies that she has never been allowed to have contact with.

She too lives a sad and lonely life. She and Suman’s father are used to give tourists rides through the streets.

Wildlife SOS has launched a campaign to help save Suman. Since her owner has no documentation for the elephant, he cannot legally keep her. The wildlife group is planning to rescue her mother and father, too. They want to act quickly before any of the elephants are sold to a different state. In a press release, the rescue said:

“Once Suman is moved out of the state, she will be lost and can never be traced again. He [the owner] will then be free to use the same money to purchase more baby elephants.”

Wildlife SOS is hoping that when people hear the story of Suman, they will sign a petition and help them fight this cruelty and neglect.

The group explained:

“Suman’s owners have isolated her from her family and are keeping her chained in a small, dank room for ‘training’ using brutal techniques — in effect, day-by-day, her spirit is being broken.”

Within 72 hours of the launch of the campaign, the Wildlife SOS-run petition got over 50,000 signatures.

The sooner Suman is rescued, the more likely she will recover from her traumatic situation.

It may take years to reverse the pain and suffering that her owner had caused her, but rescuers believe that it is possible for the elephants to live a happy life together. The rescuers said in a statement:

“As a baby elephant, Suman is faced with an uncertain future. Either 50 years of abuse, beatings, neglect, and fear — or 50 years of safety, kindness, veterinary care and love from people and other elephants at the Wildlife SOS Elephant Rescue Center. Her fate lies in our hands.”

The petition is just the start of a long process to rescue the animals.

So far, people are siding with the rescue and are hoping to free the elephant. If the rescue can act quickly, they can save these elephants before it’s too late and maybe even stop this animal trafficker from buying and selling more innocent animals like this. Elephants belong in the wild, not in shows.

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Article Sources:

The Dodo

Wildlife SOS

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By Cedric Jackson

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Cedric Jackson is a contributor at SBLY Media.