KATHMANDU, Nov 19: Actress and animal-rights advocate Sunny Leone has called for an immediate end to the use of elephants in the Chitwan Elephant Festival, saying the event is built on “cruelty, suffering and exploitation.” Her statement comes as several major sponsors have withdrawn support from the festival this year.
In her statement, Leone noted that major companies — including BYD, Buddha Air, Varun Beverages, Nepal Investment Mega Bank, Mahalaxmi Development Bank, NLG Insurance, Manakamana Darshan and Techminds Network — have distanced themselves from the festival and pledged not to support it in the future. She said the withdrawal clearly shows that “the environment is changing” and that corporations no longer want to be associated with animal cruelty.
Leone said elephants used for festival games such as polo and football endure severe physical and psychological abuse. Citing documentation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), she said elephants are routinely beaten, stabbed behind their sensitive ears, and restrained with chains for long periods to break their spirit. She pointed to a recent PETA video showing a mahout kicking, hitting, and stabbing an elephant 64 times in just five minutes during an “elephant football” match.
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Calling elephants highly intelligent and emotionally complex animals capable of deep family bonds, she said that forcing such sentient creatures to perform unnatural acts for entertainment is “deeply shameful” and must stop.
Leone also warned about public-safety risks, noting that both captive and wild elephants near festival grounds can cause unpredictable and dangerous incidents. She referenced recent fatal cases in Thailand and India to highlight the inherent risk of using elephants in crowded environments.
Recalling last year’s incident in Nepal, where a wild elephant repeatedly entered the festival grounds and was later shot dead by rangers, Leone said such tragedies should be a wake-up call.
Sunny Leone urged organizers to transform the festival into a compassionate celebration focused on education, rescued-elephant stories, and modern alternatives such as animatronic elephants. She said Chitwan has the potential to position itself as a center of ethical tourism, especially if Nepal expands sanctuaries for retired working elephants.
“The Chitwan Elephant Festival should become a festival of compassion, not cruelty,” she said in her statement.
