The training process, known as ‘phajaan,’ actually translates to ‘the crush’ during which handlers beat animals into submission so that they will be docile for the public.
SHANE CROUCHER: ‘The Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi, Thailand, runs shows in which elephants swim, dance and do tricks at the behest of a trainer as visitors watch through a glass tank. Animal rights campaigners argue that the practice is cruel, and have called on Governor of Chonburi Pakarathon Tienchai to close the zoo down and hand the elephants over to a sanctuary… A petition to shut down the zoo… has gathered over 134,000 signatures… “No elephant would exhibit these types of behaviors in the wild, so in order to make them do so for the crowds, trainers use cruel techniques to make sure their charges will do what they say when they say it,” the petition posted on Care2 states.
“The training process, known as ‘phajaan,’ actually translates to ‘the crush’ during which handlers beat animals into submission so that they will be docile for the public. “Elephants, like all other animals, were not created for nor should they be used for our entertainment. They have their own will and desires and deserve to live a life free from cruelty—preferably in the wild where they belong. “Circuses, magic shows, zoos and aquarium spectacles that use live animals reduce living, breathing beings to objects. It’s not only cruel, it is wrong”… Signatories from all over the world are demanding that local officials close down the zoo and hand the elephants over to a sanctuary’. SOURCE…
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