Photo: Twitter / Wildlife SOS
The former owner wants the elephant back
Elephant Raju lived in captivity for 50 years before he was finally released two months ago. Now the former owner wants the animal back and put it back in chains.
Elephant Raju wept when he was freed in chains after five decades by the animal rights activists of the organization Wildlife SOS. Almost two months ago - July 4th - Raju escaped his former owner. The animal rights activists released him in the middle of the night. The neglected elephant, who had to beg for fifty years his food from tourists, has been specifically rebuilt in recent weeks.
But now it looks like Raju's happy time in his new home, the conservation center in the northern Indian city of Mathura, could soon be over. Because his former owner wants to assert his right to get his elephant back. He believes that Raju is his legal property. So reports the Daily Mail. How Raju's everyday life would look like, if his owner won the contest, we can imagine. The elephant would live a life in chains again.
A decision will be made on the 4th of September. Then the court will give its verdict in Raju case. The animal rights activists of Wildlife SOS hope that the elephant will be chosen and that he does not have to return to his owner. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Wildlife SOS founder Kartick Satyanarayan said, "We hope the court will realize this should not happen, because Raju has been treated and tortured so cruelly that the man who sees him as his property, according to Indian law, has no right to get it. "
It is to be hoped that Raju will not have to spend the remaining years of his life in captivity. The organization Wildlife SOS has now launched a fundraising campaign to end lawsuits such as this one over Elephant Raju.
Our fight to save Raju - http://t.co/gZCp4mNTuO. Pls help us protect Raju http://t.co/nlf6kT8iNs pic.twitter.com/hF5JdbUdvh
- Wildlife SOS (@WildlifeSOS) September 1, 2014
