Canadian author, filmmaker takes on elephant cruelty in India
CTV
Although Asian elephants are highly revered, abuse of these magnificent creatures is widespread at temples in parts of India.
"During my visit to some of the temples in the southern Indian state of Kerala, I discovered that these sacred animals are being exploited for profit behind the insidious veil of culture and religion," said filmmaker and biologist Sangita Iyer in an interview with CTV's Your Morning on Tuesday. "There were blind elephants. There were elephants that were wounded -- ghastly wounds, bleeding out of their ankles. And I thought to myself, I had to expose the atrocities."
Iyer grabbed a camera and ended up with 25 hours of footage, which ended up turning into the 2016 documentary 'Gods in Shackles' that won awards at several international film festivals. Last month, she also published a book, 'Gods in Shackles: What Elephants Can Teach Us About Empathy, Resilience, and Freedom.'
"I use all of that as a pulpit to expose the atrocities against the elephants," she said.
Like humans, elephants are extremely social creatures and are strongly family oriented. But when young elephants are taken away from the families and forced to perform at festivals and ceremonies, it can cause serious trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder.
