Vegan Actor Evanna Lynch Fights to Ban Elephant Rides Due to Animal Abuse

Vegan, activist and actor Evanna Lynch, best known for her portrayal of Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter film series, is urging the public to boycott elephant rides.

Lynch recently journeyed to India with news publication The Sun to raise awareness about the cruelty of the animal entertainment industry.

More than 850,000 people from the UK visit India every year. Many participate in the animal tourist attraction “without realising the true horror of captivity for these intelligent creatures when we pay to ride them or take a selfie,” the publication wrote.

Lynch admitted, “Just a few years ago I dreamed of going to India and riding an elephant. But then I couldn’t have imagined the abuse the elephants suffer.”

“Now I know, and I think everyone else needs to see this and know too.”

The publication described the conditions in which the large mammals are kept. Many are “desperately thirsty” and “standing in the fierce heat” with chains wrapped around their bodies. The animals are frequently “beaten, starved and caged,” according to The Sun. The beatings result in “gaping wounds” on the animals’ bodies, however, the trainers simply paint the wounds grey to cover the injuries from tourists.

Of the experience, Lynch said: “I have been so shocked. We saw one elephant chained up – it couldn’t move at all.”

“It had a stick resting on its head so if it moved the stick would fall. If it did the trainer would give it a beating.”

She continued, “I asked the man standing there how long the elephant might have been there, and he told me probably his whole life. That is unfathomable.”

The Sun explained that in India, elephants are “snatched from their mothers in the wild when they are babies.” The young animals are then “tortured into complete submission in a process called ‘pajan.’” The baby elephants are kept in cages so small the animal cannot move – “not even to turn around, not its head or sit down.”

The publication said, “Trainers then starve the animal and keep it awake for days on end.”

“Exhausted and on the brink of death, the elephants are then beaten with wooden weapons, specially designed to inflict as much pain as possible. This happens every day for at least six months, but can go on for years.” This occurs until their spirit is “so broken” that the animals finally let their trainers ride them, The Sun explained.

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