“A standard method for breaking human prisoners follows a particular sequence. It begins with brutal deprivation and physical torture to instil helplessness and hopelessness in the prisoner. Torture is followed by a period of rest where the prisoner is provided food and care. The purpose is to instil the prisoner with a sense of hope and openness which increases vulnerability so that when the brutality is again exerted, the prisoner lacks any defences and is completely broken rendering her malleable to the torturers. This is what was done to the three elephants,” writes Gay A Bradshaw, well-known animal conservationist.
The elephants in question here are Sandhya, Indu and Jayanthi, who on 28 September 2019, were relocated using brute force from a rehabilitation camp in Marakkanam to another facility, following a court order. Three-and-a-half years ago, the elephants had been handed over by the Kanchi Mutt. A court had ruled that the animals be relocated in four weeks as the chain-free facility was in violation of Captive Elephants' Guidelines.
The videos of the elephants being physically assaulted garnered attention worldwide.
Gay Bradshaw, founder and Executive Director of The Kerulos Center for Nonviolence, has specialised in trans-species psychology, that is, animal psychological rehabilitation and conservation. She has penned the book Elephants on the Edge: What Animals Teach Us About Humanity in 2009. Much of her research focuses on the effects of violence and trauma recovery of parrots, elephants, and chimpanzees in captivity. Completely moved by the recent incident, she wrote a heartfelt note condemning the violence.
“All of their symptoms prior to sanctuary conform to profound psychological trauma, what is formally diagnosed in psychology and psychiatry as C-PTSD (Complex PTSD) to describe the devastating effects of torture and captivity on humans. These elephants exhibit all of the symptoms common to human victims of prolonged incarceration and torture,” she has written in a statement.
“The appalling brutal seizure of the three elephants is a crime, a crime against nature- and humanity.”Dr Gay Bradshaw, Executive Director of The Kerulos Center for Nonviolence
The caretakers of these elephants had said it took over three-and-a-half years for the animals to believe in the space, realise they will no longer be abused. They had just begun to live a happy, free life, close to their habitat, only to be assaulted yet again.
“To allow and condone such violence is to condone the demise of our own species.”Dr Gay Bradshaw, Executive Director of The Kerulos Center for Nonviolence
“The treatment of the elephants will erase any progress they have made in sanctuary and indeed set them back to irretrievable psychological and physical collapse. This can be prevented if the three elephants are returned to their former sanctuary where they have received nurturing care,” she said.
A chain-free facility was seen as unsuitable for these gentle giants by the court, but when The Quint visited the camp a week before the relocation, what we witnessed was a model setup where the three elephants had made the forest their home, and the had become a happy family.
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