Elephants playing soccer, racing or swimming. These performances are part of a controversial festival in Vietnam. Several NGOs are now speaking out against these practices.
Category
🐳
AnimalsTranscript
00:00In the past, I thought that the elephant was only good at pulling wood and helping people.
00:20But I didn't think that it could do a lot of things.
00:22It could not only pull wood, but also play football, run, and swim.
01:01In the beginning, the elephant was a member of my family.
01:05Any family with an elephant is a great asset to their family.
01:08They respect the elephant a lot.
01:30I can't think of any argument that makes it right, hitting your elephant to make it run for entertainment.
01:43Elephants don't obey, they submit.
02:00In fact, to train an elephant, we use what we call training by annihilation.
02:06How does it work?
02:08Often, trainers use a tool called the bull hook.
02:12It hits the animal repeatedly on sensitive areas for days.
02:17An animal that is both hungry, thirsty, and locked up.
02:20Then, the elephant will do everything, will obey in any order,
02:25so that the injuries it received during the training are not reactivated by new blows on these same sensitive areas.