Raju the crying elephant faces life back in chains after cruel former owners launch legal battle to win him back

The creature captured the hearts of people from around the world when he cried as he was freed from chains after 50 years

Now his former owners, who used him to beg, are trying to get him back

Raju's fate will be decided at a court hearing in Allahabad, on September 4

Raju, the elephant who wept after being released from chains is facing more misery - after his owners have launched a legal battle to win him back.



The creature captured the hearts of people from around the world when he cried as he was freed from chains after 50 years, and was taken to join five female elephants at Wildlife SOS's Elephant Conservation and Care Centre in India.

But now his former owners have launched a legal bid to reclaim him - insisting he is their 'rightful property'.



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Raju, the elephant who wept after being released from chains is facing more misery - after his owners have launched a legal battle to win him back

Charity Wildlife SOS founder Kartick Satyanarayan, who led the rescue operation to save Raju, said: 'We are devastated that after all he’s been though we are still having to fight for Raju’s freedom. His owner is arguing that Raju is his property, which must be returned to him for his use.

'We are hoping the courts will see sense that this can never happen as Raju was treated with such appalling cruelty and torture in his hands in the first place and the man claiming ownership of Raju has no legal grounds to claim him back under Indian law.



'The thought of him being forced to go back to a life in chains is just horrific.



'We are starting a Raju Legal fund that will help us fight such legal battles to protect Raju and elephants like him that suffer in silence. One of Raju’s friends Laxmi Elephant who was rescued by Wildlife SOS from Mumbai suffers a similar fate where her previous owner is claiming her back as property.'

The creature captured the hearts of people from around the world when he cried as he was freed from chains after 50 years

Raju's fate will be decided at a court hearing in Allahabad, on September 4

Raju's fate will be decided at a court hearing in Allahabad, on September 4.

Mr Satyanarayan added: 'We are planning to fight tooth and nail through the courts to ensure this can’t happen. We will take it to the highest legal levels and to the Supreme Court of India if required.



'We will argue that he broke wildlife protection laws and animal cruelty laws through his treatment of Raju, and that he was being kept illegally After being trafficked from handler to handler from being poached as a calf.

'We want this case to set a precedent across India to change the way elephants are treated and abusers are punished and justice prevails for these magnificent creatures that suffer in silence.'

Raju’s story first came to light in July this year when the Harrow-based charity Wildlife SOS-UK along with their counterparts, Wildlife SOS India, rescued him in a daring midnight operation in India.

A ten-strong team of vets and wildlife experts from the charity Wildlife SOS along with 20 Forest Department and Police officers seized Raju in the Uttar Pradesh region.

Kartick said: 'He'd been poached as a calf from the wild; Poachers either slaughter the mother, or they drive the herd into traps that are small enough only for the babies to fall into. The mother cries for her baby for days after he's been stolen – the illegal elephant trade is sickening. The calves are then tied and beaten until they submit to their captors – their spirits are effectively broken.

'Raju's case was particularly tragic as we believe he has been sold again and again and might have had 27 owners – he's been treated as a commodity and beaten into accepting his new handler every two years of his life.

'By the time we found him he was in a pathetic condition. He hadn't been fed properly and tourists started giving him sweet food items and because he was in a state of hunger and exhaustion he began eating plastic and paper He had no shelter at night, and was being used as a prop to beg with from dawn until dusk or being used for giving tourists joy rides. And most heartrendingly of all – the chains that cut into his legs had been there for 50 years. It was horrific.

'It took us 45 minutes to remove the shackles that had torn into the flesh on his legs for the past 50 years – an act of unthinkable cruelty.

Raju's story first came to light in July this year when the Harrow-based charity Wildlife SOS-UK along with their counterparts, Wildlife SOS India, rescued him in a daring midnight operation in India

'His legs were so covered in abscesses and his feet so damaged by walking on hard tarmac roads, that we have spent much more than expected on his medical treatment, and we still have a long way to go as he has a serious limp and open wounds.'

Raju arrived at Wildlife SOS’s Elephant Conservation and Care Center, in Mathura, India, two months ago, where he joined five female elephants.



Mr Satyanarayan said: 'We are delighted Raju has fitted in so well with the first family he's ever had since he was orphaned by poachers as a calf.

The creature captured the hearts of people from around the world when he cried as he was freed from chains after 50 years

Raju still faces years of treatment to heal both the physical and psychological wounds from his time in chains

'He had been so terribly brutalized for 50 years that we feared he’d be unable to live with his own kind. He didn’t even know how to be an elephant. But now it’s like he’s always been with them.

When we first released him, he held back and he was clearly wary. Three of our female elephants Laxmi, Chanchal and Sai Geeta (also known as Bijli) ran up to him – their ears flapping wildly –a sign they were excited and delighted to meet him. They also made high-pitched trumpeting sounds – a greeting.

Then each of them touched him with their trunks, clearly reassuring him before they wandered off into the grazing land. It was incredibly touching after all he’d been through.

'Raju still faces years of treatment to heal both the physical and psychological wounds.



'The thought that he may have to leave all this behind if his owner gets his way – is absolutely heartbreaking for us and for the other elephants.

'All we want is for him to taste freedom for the first time in their lives and live out his days in dignity, free from suffering and pain and we are determined to make that happen.'