Horrifying moment a chained elephant collapses to the ground after being whipped and beaten by its cruel new owners in India
- Exhausted elephant was tied up and beaten by handlers in Kerala, southern India
- Giant animal is repeatedly beaten by its new owners until it falls to the ground
- Shocking video has been widely shared in India where it has sparked outrage
- The elephant handlers were sacked after an animal rights group complained
This is the shocking moment handlers mercilessly beat a tied up elephant with long metal poles and the tired animal lies down as the blows rain down on it.
The incident took place in the district of Thrissur in the southern Indian state of Kerala when a former temple elephant was filmed being brutally beaten and jabbed at by its new owners in footage that has caused outrage.
The horrifying footage was shared on Twitter where nearly 100,000 people have viewed the disturbing scenes.
Broken: the exhausted elephant slumps on the ground as its handlers continue to beat it with metal poles
In the video, the tied up elephant can be seen being beaten by at least two handlers who use long poles to whack its legs and side.
The animal is then seen dropping to the ground as the men continue whipping and beating it.
At one point, one of the men jabs its leg in an apparent attempt to get the elephant to stand up. However, the visibly tired animal drops its head and flops onto the ground.
Outrage: the Voice for Asian Elephants Society (VFAES) said the elephant handlers had been sacked after their founder complained to forestry officials
Despite lying motionless, the two handlers continue hitting it with sticks and a third man even joins in.
The animal rights group ‘Voice for Asian Elephants Society (VFAES)’ said on social media: ‘Our founder filed a complaint against the owners and mahouts (handlers). The mahouts were fired.’
Meanwhile, VFAES said that the elephant has been ‘transferred to Palakkad District’ where it is being ‘monitored closely by the forest department’.
It is unclear whether the local authorities are following up on the NGO’s complaint.
Brutal: These ‘mahouts’ or elephant handlers lost their jobs after the video of them beating the helpless animal went viral
Animal rights group Voice for Asian Elephants Society (VFAES) welcomed the sacking of the brutal elephant handlers