Elephant cries after being abused for 50 years
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, July 8, 2014
'Until we stepped in he'd never known what it is like to walk free of his shackles -- it's a truly pitiful case.
'But today he knows what freedom is and he will learn what kindness feels like and what it's like to not suffer any more.'
The daring rescue came exactly a year to the day since the charity was alerted to Raju's plight by the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department in India.
A confiscation process went through the courts as Raju's owner did not have any legal documents for his possession meaning the charity could rescue him from suffering.
It is not known exactly how Raju came into his plight, as little is known about his early years, but the charity believes he was poached from his mother as a young calf.
Ms Binepal said: 'The poachers either slaughter the mother, or they drive the herd into traps that are small enough only for the babies to fall into. The mother cries for her baby for days after he's been stolen -- it is a sickening trade.
'The calves are then tied and beaten until they submit to their owners -- their spirits are effectively broken.
'We discovered Raju's case was particularly tragic.
'He'd been poached as a calf and then he has been sold on and sold on. Incredibly we believe he has had up to 27 owners -- he's been treated as a commodity every two years of his life.
'By the time we found him in July 2013 he was in a pathetic condition. He had no shelter at night, and was being used as a prop to beg from dawn until dusk from tourists visiting the sites of India.
'He hasn't been fed properly and tourists started giving him sweet food items and because he was in a state of hunger and exhaustion he began eating plastic and paper.
'His nails are severely overgrown, he has abscesses and wounds because of the shackles and continually walking on a tarmac road has led to his foot pad overgrowing.'
Once the court order was finally issued, a team led by Wildlife SOS founder Kartick Satyanarayan carried out two days of surveillance before launching the rescue.
The charity has now launched a campaign to raise 10,000 pounds to help Raju begin the start of his new life in a new enclosure which will allow him to roam with his adoptive family.
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