Tai the Elephant Abused Prior to Filming of Robert Pattinson Vehicle 'Water For Elephants,' Animal Rights Group Says

Commandrea

I've never taken our kids to the circus for this reason. People think they're obligated to carry on this tradition, but I've started a new one- telling our kids the truth about just how they get those beasts to perform on command. It really pissed them off.

ElephantAndAnimalLover

Ok, the movie was REALLY GOOD!!....But, animal abusing is NEVER GOOD, so I would not like this movie, Rosie (Tai) was trained like that. In fact, my great aunt in Vietnam raised a baby asian elephant-carefully and loved. My uncle in Bulgaria raised an elephant too, and is still being loved. This is freakin bad,I'd adopt those animals if they were treated badly and raise them on my own. And I'm only 15.

Eyal Pinkas

@CrazyNites:disqus "..In order to feed those animals, their keepers are forced to make extra money"you sounded reasonable until that line.how about we play a game - replave "elephants" with "native people". you get something like that:"...the white man invaded their land, and they lost their means of survivng. so in order to feed these native people, the white man had to chain them in shakles and force them to work the fields, so he can feed them"

bottom line:You can't justify wrong with wrong

A Yahoo! user

By that logic you could liken planting a garden to - "... the white man took native people, buried them in the ground and poured water over them for six weeks."

Bottom line:People, elephants and carrots are different things.

Alyne16

Science, common sense and compassion tells us that elephants should not be used in entertainment. How do you think you get an 8,000 lb animal to get in such an unnatural and painful postition as standing on her head. Shameful. Let's hope the stars in this movie do the right thing.

jamie

What do you expect them to do? They're actors. They did their jobs. They have nothing to do with a video that was made 6 years earlier.

Elliecat47

It disgusts me that a movie showing how elephants were treated left out the important message that nothing has changed for circus animals. They are all abused to do the ridiculous and unnatural stunts all for greed..It's a disgrace!!!

CrazyNites

You are barking at the wrong tree. The movie is based on the book and both carry a message to protect animals against abuse. ADI is good for nothing if they had this video and didn't report it to authorities in 2005. They should have stopped an abuse right then. I hold them as much responsible for continuing abuse as those elephant trainers. Disgusting.But I loved the book and the movie and if it wasn't for the movie ADI would still be sitting on those tapes doing nothing.

Elliecat47

The Movie they made based on the book about abuse, ABUSED the elephant in the movie..The movie was made for no reason other than to make money!!!

CrazyNites

And you know all this how? Every movie that uses animals nowadays tries to get an approval from American Humane Association. AHA has vets on staff and other animal professionals that can verify health conditions and who are trained in recognizing behavioral problems associated with abuse and so on. According to AHA statement, they checked elephants conditions before the movie went into production and observed Water for Elephants set daily. They didn't find anything that would be a cause for concern and the movie got their approval. That's enough for me for now.The fact that ADI didn't publish the tape until now makes me wonder if they had a case here. General public including me has very limited knowledge what's legal and what is not in training animals. What may not be acceptable for cat or dog maybe perfectly fine for a big animal like elephants. Would I like wild animals to live in their natural habitat? Of course! Unfortunately we humans took their space and now many of those animals have a choice either to live on reservations and farms with humans or die from food deprivation. In order to feed those animals, their keepers are forced to make extra money. Some of the money come from public donations but also from displaying those animals and using them for entertainment. That's the reality. We may not like it but we have to live it and try to make it better. Sorry for the rant. I just don't like when people jump to conclusions without proper research. I'll wait for proper organizations to do an investigation of this case before I cry 'wolf.'

Taylor

Which of these elephants in this video is supposed to be the one from Water for Elephants?

With all of the edits and manipulation, you can't tell if it's really the same one or just more random old video the animal activists have cobbled together to try and go after the movie and Have Trunk Will Travel.

With all of the legitimate animal protection agencies out there watching over the movies and animal actors in general, situations like this where the animals are mistreated by professionals are isolated circumstances.

There's plenty of press I've seen on this movie and the animals in it and, after reading all that, I find it hard to believe that Have Trunk Will Travel would treat elephants they care for like this. All of the press was positive and the Humane Society even did a video showing how well the animals in the movie were cared for and protected.

Since this elephant video is supposedly six years old, why haven't the ADI or other animal extremist groups brought it forward before now? It certainly looks like a sleazy attempt by these extremist groups to try and gin up a little press for themselves by fabricating a set of circumstances that don't have anything to do with the movie or the zoo, or might not even be Have Trunk Will Travel.

Elliecat47

Every "wild" animal in captivity is being abused in one way or the other. The only wild animals that should be in captivity are the orphaned or hurt by man in one way or another. They should all be free to live out their lives not to entertain us..Who do we think we are? We are no better than animals but are definitely the most destructive animal to ever walk the earth..

CrazyNites

The video was made in 2005. Elephants from Have trunk Will Travel were used in so many movies and other entertainment since then till now. Why ADI kept silent all this time if they truly cared about animals and didn't let everyone in Hollywood know about this horrible practices. I smell something fishy and need more proof. This video could be taken at any zoo or other place where they have elephants.

Just curious

I am so weary of the drama-mongers. Let's just move forward...

Elliecat47

You don't have to speak for the voiceless..

kiki

@guest the movie has nothing to do with what happened in 2005. i find it odd that they waited 6 years to release the video, when they have used these elephants in other movies, etc.

Guest

I was really looking foward to seeing this movie. Not anymore. I think the problem is that we fool outselves into thinking that it is possible to train wild animals to do a human's idea of tricks in a kind and humane way. Unfortunately, the abuse will not stop until the public boycotts these kinds of shows. Thanks for letting me have my say.