After nine grueling years, an elephant named Mariappan is finally free of the chains that bound him by all four legs so tightly that he could not take a single step in any direction. Mariappan was chained inside a filthy, dark shed at the Arulmigu Mariamman Temple in Samayapuram, India, until a local activist, with the help of PETA India, succeeded in convincing the temple to allow Mariappan to be moved to the Arignar Anna Zoological Park, a spacious sanctuary where he can at last feel grass beneath his feet.

Mariappan was chained for years in this temple room.

Finally outside enjoying a bath before traveling to his new home.

Unfortunately, Mariappan is not alone. Many elephants are kept in similarly miserable conditions at temples throughout India. (You may recall reading in The PETA Files about Ram Prasad, a temple elephant who is being helped by Animal Rahat, a relief organization supported by PETA.) Now PETA India and local activists are pressuring the government to free three other elephants who are kept in chains at temples in the Samayapuram area. 

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Ram Prasad spends his days chained by all four legs on a concrete platform at a temple near Sangli, India. Like other temple elephants in India, he is essentially a moneymaker, used to encourage devotees to donate money and gifts. Years of being kept virtually immobilized have caused Ram's back legs to atrophy, and he has developed a painful foot infection as a result of being forced to stand day in and day out on a hard surface (such foot problems are common in captive elephants—and are the number one cause of elephant deaths in American zoos and circuses).

When veterinary staff with Animal Rahat, a PETA-supported relief program for working animals in India, discovered Ram, he was also suffering from a huge, gaping abscess on his side. Animal Rahat is working with Ram's caretakers to allow the veterinarians to treat him and has also persuaded them to make other improvements in his care.

Ahhhh! Ram soaks his aching feet in a medicated bath.

Ram's left ear is missing because of an "accident."

Ram stands patiently as his abscess is flushed out and packed with antiseptic gauze.

All done! Time for a watermelon snack.

Ram goes for his first walk in five months.

... and cools down with a refreshing bath.

Ram is just one of thousands of animals whose lives have been made better by Animal Rahat. Find out more about this lifesaving work here.

Written by Alisa Mullins