Breaking Free from the Past Chains

Chains are used in a circus environment to reign in elephants. It doesn’t seem totally cruel and unusual until you see the mental and physical impact on some of the creatures. One such incident happened at the Elephant Sanctuary this summer. Billie was an ex-circus elephant who was brought to the Sanctuary over five years ago.

For the past five years, this beautiful creature carried that rusty ankle bracelet as a reminder of her difficult past life. A reminder of the harsh treatment she endured as she would clink around the Sanctuary dragging her chains with her.

Almost every other elephant who arrived at the Sanctuary would allow the caregivers to remove their chains immediately but Billie appeared to be suffering from a lack of trust and each time the caregivers would reach out to her chain, she would back away.

Through a new technique brought to the Sanctuary this past summer, Billie became a participant in the Positive Contact (PC) program where the caregivers were able to win over her trust.

After many weeks in PC, Billie finally lifted her foot and allowed the caregivers to remove her chains. Billie had been set free. You can watch the You Tube video here.

When the chain falls to the ground, Billie picks it up for the briefest of moments but then quickly tossed it aside in search of more treats.

What you will not see on the video is what happened afterwards.

Billie went out in the fields in search of her friend, Frieda (another ex-circus elephant) and Billie woke her up. Several other elephants joined together in a “trumpeting/chirping reunion” according to Sanctuary caregivers.

Billie’s story has a happy ending. Other elephants around the globe are not so lucky but since 1995, twenty-four elephants have found a home at the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

Since Billie’s chain has finally been removed successfully, all of the elephants are living a chain-free existence.

Note: The Elephant Sanctuary is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

http://www.elephants.com/

http://www.upali.ch/chains_en.html


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