Heartbreaking Photographs Show Starving 70-Year-Old Elephant Forced to Perform in Sri Lankan Festival

Heartbreaking images of a malnourished 70-year-old elephant forced to perform in a Sri Lankan festival.
Heartbreaking Photographs Show Starving 70-Year-Old Elephant Forced to Perform in Sri Lankan Festival
70-year-old emaciated elephant Tikiri eating at the Temple of the Tooth in the central city of Kandy on Aug. 13, 2019. STR/AFP/Getty Images
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Heartbreaking images of a malnourished 70-year-old elephant forced to perform in a Sri Lankan festival have been circulated online by an animal rights group, as it called for an end to animal exploitation in captivity.

The photographs, which were shared online by the charitable organization Save Elephant Foundation, based in Thailand, show an emaciated elephant collapsed on the floor after performing in Sri Lanka’s annual Esala Perahera Festival.

Isabel van Brugen
Isabel van Brugen
Reporter
Isabel van Brugen is an award-winning journalist. She holds a master's in newspaper journalism from City, University of London.
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