Undercover footage of a brutal festival in Nepal where handlers abuse elephants with bullhooks has convinced countless major companies to cut ties with the event.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) share footage with Totally Vegan Buzz which shows riders viciously beating elephants at the 15th annual Chitwan Elephant Festival in Nepal.

Thanks to the investigation Renault, MINISO, Carlsberg Group, United Beverage, Mega Bank, Kumari Bank, JGI, Chaudhary Group, Everest Insurance and Hotel Seven Star have announced they’re ending their association with the festival.

The disturbing footage shows handlers repeatedly hitting and jabbing elephants on the head and behind their sensitive ears with bullhooks, sticks and makeshift wooden knives to ‘force them into submission and make them race, give rides, and play football and polo’, according to PETA.

The video shows one elephant being beaten continuously for nearly a minute, and an eyewitness saw another who had watery discharge seeping from one eye, indicating an injury or infection, PETA explained.

Observers also documented that many elephants had deep, bloody wounds around their heads and ears. A young girl was seen covering her mouth in shock after witnessing a baby elephant being beaten with a stick.

“Deeply sensitive and intelligent elephants are being used as punch bags at this despicably cruel event,” says PETA Director Elisa Allen.

“PETA is calling for an end to the event and urging companies to cut ties with this spectacle of suffering immediately.”

According to the group, still-nursing baby elephants are dragged from their mothers, immobilised, beaten mercilessly, burned with torches, and gouged with sticks for days at a time. After their spirits are broken, they spend their lives in servitude, PETA claimed.

“When not being used for entertainment, they’re frequently kept shackled so tightly that they can barely take a single step in any direction,” a statement added.

• Read: Investigation reveals donkeys whipped, beaten and forced to carry tourists up 500 steps in Greece

What do you think of this festival? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Oli Gross

Oli’s career and personal ethical values both help shape his reporting of the diverse world of veganism. His background is in local newspaper and magazine journalism, and his work has included reporting court cases, celebrity interviews, business analysis, food and drink features and government legislation.

See author's posts