YSK That Elephant 'Artists' are Physically Abused

Videos of elephants painting various things have been going viral on the internet for a few years now, but I recently learned that the elephants are actually taught how to paint through months of physical abuse.

Thanks to research conducted by elephant conservation organizations, we are almost certain that elephants are taught to paint only after being "starved, shackled, and beaten, until their spirit is completely broken and will submit to the will of their captors.  Once young elephants have undergone this process they can begin learning to paint."

The elephant’s trunk is incredibly sensitive and full of nerve endings. In the wild elephants will avoid acacia trees because these trees house ants that might crawl into the elephants trunk and bite. While the paint brush might not bite … we can’t imagine it is a comfortable experience.

While the elephants paint, the elephant's trainer stands beside them, holding bull hooks.

Bull hooks or the more discrete method, a nail that can be hidden in the mahout’s hand, is shoved into the soft tissue of the elephants ear.

Training the elephant this way takes place over a period of multiple months.

To train the elephant to move the brush to create stroke patterns that we recognize as flowers, trees, or even an elephant, the [trainers] use these painful prods to guide the elephant’s movements. Further if an elephant paints incorrectly, they are beaten, either with a bull hook, or physically hit on their head or trunk.

Once they have learned how to paint something, they are forced to recreate that pattern every single day.

So what are you able to do about it?

Elephant camps that abuse elephants rely on tourism. These camps wouldn't be able to operate without a constant flow of visitors.

Be sure not to share videos that feature elephants who are being tortured into painting for tourists, and to share this article with those who do share these videos. From the outside it may appear that the elephants can “magically” create works of art, but now that you know how elephants are traditionally taught to paint … it’s your duty to share the truth.

Submitted November 25, 2019 at 12:53AM by HackMacAttack https://ift.tt/2OFsbDN