I have an update on Sunder, the juvenile elephant we’ve been working to free from the clutches of the Jyotiba Temple, where he has been badly beaten and kept constantly chained (often by all fours, as you can see by the chain marks on his hind legs) and totally isolated in a dark chicken shed when not used as a living begging bowl. As you may recall, we had a breakthrough last fall when our worldwide advocacy campaign resulted in an official order from the Indian minister of environment and forests to transfer Sunder to an approved holding place. Everyone was overjoyed, but then the temple fought the order and officials backed off out of fear of religious retribution. To make matters even worse, the temple hid Sunder so that our vets couldn’t monitor him or provide the veterinary care that he needed.

The good news is that after months of attempting to locate Sunder, we have at last found where he’s being hidden. Someone was able to snap this photo but unable to have any contact with him. We are now bringing a new case to court to try to compel the temple trustees to release Sunder, so please keep your fingers firmly crossed.