UnchainedTV: Woman on a Mission: Save the World's Elephants!

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are so excited to have an extraordinary woman

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with us today.

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Today we're going to meet a woman on

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a mission to save elephants.

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Sangita Iyer, who made the award-winning documentary

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Gods in Shackles, says we dream of a

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day when people and elephants can live harmoniously.

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Too many elephants are getting killed in conflicts

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with humans.

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We simply cannot allow them to disappear from

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the face of this earth.

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There are less than 40,000 Asian elephants

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in the world.

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Around 60% of them, and that means

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27,000 elephants or more, wander the jungles

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of India.

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The problem is this, 80% of the

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elephants' habitats have been occupied by people.

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In other words, people and elephants are sharing

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80% of the land mass in India.

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You are looking at some of the video

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that Sangita Iyer has taken herself as she

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tries to wake the world up and get

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the world's help.

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Sangita, tell us, what is your mission?

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Thank you so much.

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It's nice to see you and good to

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have you.

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Thank you for having me.

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My mission is to do everything possible to

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protect the endangered Asian elephants, particularly in India.

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As you clearly mentioned, 55% to 60

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% of the Asian elephant population is in

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India.

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I'm doing everything I can to save them.

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At the same time, 18% of the

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world's human population is also in India.

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18%, can you believe?

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1.41 billion people.

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India is the most densely populated country on

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the planet.

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These two dominant species are trying to sustain

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themselves and exist.

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Coexistence peacefully is critically important.

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That's what I'm trying to do through my

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organisation called Voices for Asian Elephants.

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Now, you hit the world stage big time

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with your award-winning documentary, Gods in Shackles.

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This is just one of the many, many

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headlines that you got.

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This one from the BBC.

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This is in 2020, the woman trying to

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save India's tortured elephants.

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You really brought to the world's attention that

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these so-called temple ceremonies, where these animals,

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these sensitive, intelligent, social beings are shackled and

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paraded and forced to submit to fireworks and

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all sorts of...

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You see right here, this is the middle

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of a festival.

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There's giant fire.

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It's absolutely horrifying.

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It seems like the world did not know

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about this.

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They did not know this is the shackle.

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You can see a man's leg on the

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left.

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You can see the injuries to these elephants

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on the right.

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The idea that all of this is being

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done in the name of religion and spirituality,

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why did you decide that you had to

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devote your life's work to exposing this horror?

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Because that is the tragic paradox, is that

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in India, elephants are worshipped as Lord Ganesh.

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Lord Ganesh is the embodiment of elephants.

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Lord Ganesh is considered to be the wisest

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Lord and the one that actually blesses people

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with prosperity, etc.

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To make this God happy, they are actually

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exploiting and abusing God's own creations.

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That's the tragic paradox that I found.

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This is true even in the wild.

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I felt that India is considered to be

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one of the most ancient spiritual countries in

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the world.

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Hinduism, which is what India is grounded in,

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is actually based on Ahimsa.

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Ahimsa is non-violence.

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Everything being inflicted upon these supremely intelligent animals,

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everything is violent.

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I felt that I needed to make sure

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that people realise that no God would want

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God's own creations to be abused.

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It's not going to make God happy by

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witnessing God's own creations being treated so horribly,

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all in the name of culture and religion.

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But there are a select few elephant owners,

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so to speak, who actually mint money.

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They've made it their business, literally, to commercialise

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these elephants that are considered India's heritage animal

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and a Schedule 1 animal, which means they

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deserve the maximum protection, but they are still

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being captured from the wild and exploited for

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profit in the name of culture and religion.

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A lot of people are blindsided by it,

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so I needed to expose that.

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You did an award-winning documentary.

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It really got global attention, but you also

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have a channel on Unchained TV, our non

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-profit global streaming network.

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You've covered some of the same issues.

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I took this off of one of your

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shows on Unchained TV.

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Let's watch it.

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We'll talk about it on the other side.

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The city of Trishul in the southern Indian

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state of Kerala is bustling.

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Tourists from all over the world arrive in

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droves to greet the dawn of Trishul Puram.

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It's the annual festival that marks a special

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date on the Hindu astrological calendar.

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It's the largest gathering of male Asian elephants

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in the world.

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So what was used perhaps 80, 50, 100

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years back, and that was used as a

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symbol of royalty, or as a symbol of

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religious function, and only very wealthy landowners would

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keep elephants.

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Now it has come down to the common

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people who also want to enjoy the elephant.

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The elephant's role is simple.

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Stand shackled beneath the scorching sun and display

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their majestic tusks.

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In the wild, elephants wander across vast areas

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for up to 16 hours a day, grazing

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on a wide variety of vegetation and drinking

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at least 200 litres, just under 55 gallons

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of water a day.

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But in these festivals, they are deprived of

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food, water, and shelter.

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Even blind elephants are paraded in these festivals.

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Suparna Ganguly, founder of Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation

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Centre, launched the first ever investigation of captive

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elephant welfare across India in 2014.

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It was never in any of India's religious

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texts, or in any Hindu religious texts, to

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that extent Christian, Islam, nobody mentions the usage

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of elephants anywhere.

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But unfortunately, when it is a very glamorous

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animal, and in functions and parades, it can

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look spectacular.

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So you can watch more of that on

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Unchained TV, our global streaming network, if you

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haven't downloaded it.

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You can download it on your phone.

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You can download it on any television using

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an Amazon Fire Stick, a Roku device, or

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an Apple TV device.

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It's on all Samsung TVs.

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And you can also watch online, just go

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to unchainedtv.com.

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So what have the religious leaders said when

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you confront them about torturing animals and claiming

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that this is some kind of spiritual religious

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experience?

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So there are a lot of Hindu priests

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that are speaking out right now.

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In fact, I did interview a Hindu priest

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in my film, Gods and Shackles.

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And I want to announce today that I'm

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willing to give you the entire film that

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you can actually share.

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This is incredible.

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Thank you.

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Wow.

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We're doing this on Unchained TV.

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What a gift.

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What a gift.

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The world needs to see this.

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Go ahead.

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Yeah, thank you.

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And you are a gift.

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You are a gift because you're giving the

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elephants the opportunity to be screened and to

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be watched and so to educate people.

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So anyway, so this priest, he talks about

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the fact that the elephant owners are exploiting

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these elephants.

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It has nothing to do with cultural religion.

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And when he became the priest of this

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particular temple, he stopped using this elephant for

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parading.

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Instead, he had the priests walk around doing

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exactly the same things that the elephants do.

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And he said, we can still, you know,

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embrace our culture and traditions.

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All right.

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We've got so many callers lined up.

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Everybody is interested in this subject.

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Annie and Sherman Oaks, your question or thought?

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Annie?

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Can you hear me?

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Yes.

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Yes.

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Yes, I can.

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Yes, I can.

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Go ahead.

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Thank you so much for this.

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And Sangita, I cried Gods and Shackles so

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powerful.

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What motivated you?

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How did and how long did it take

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you?

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How much work did it take you to

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actually go through and show the reality?

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Because I know there's a lot of rebellion

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against it.

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Go ahead.

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That's a good question.

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That's a good question.

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Your answer, Sangita?

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Yeah.

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Well, thank you, first of all, for your

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kind words.

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What really inspired me was their suffering, actually.

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And this is Lakshmi.

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It is her eye that you just saw.

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She was blinded.

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And I actually covered her entire story in

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this film, Gods and Shackles.

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And yes, there is a lot of rebellion.

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And I am also cyber bullied frequently.

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And there are so many of these temple

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owners, actually elephant owners, excuse me, who try

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to suppress my voice.

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But actually, it gets only louder because I

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don't allow them to suppress my voice, nor

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do I allow them to hide reality.

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They distort the truth.

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And they try to make me appear like

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a bad person, projecting their own insanity on

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me.

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And I'm like, no, no, no.

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Don't shoot the messenger.

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Focus on what I am saying and try

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to use that to bring forth changes.

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We live in a modernised world.

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And elephants belong in the wild.

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This planet does not belong to human beings

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alone.

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We share this magnificent web of life with

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so many other species on the planet.

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We need to make sure that whatever we

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do, we honour and revere and respect all

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of these creatures of the earth.

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And one of the other reasons is, of

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course, I love elephants.

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I consider elephants to be my soul animals.

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And I wanted to do anything and everything

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I can.

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And this was the best I could do,

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which is to produce this film.

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I want to grab these callers while they're

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there.

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Renee in Los Angeles, your question or thought

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for Sangeeta Iyer.

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Hi, first of all, thank you so much.

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Everything that each of us does is so

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critical.

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And ironically, I just saw an article come

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up, Jane, I sent it to you.

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It's entitled, How Israel Became the Global Centre

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of Veganism.

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And it's all about the animal rights movement

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00:11:47,820 --> 00:11:50,180
for compassion in Israel.

277
00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:54,620
And even in the marches, the Israel Arab

278
00:11:54,620 --> 00:11:59,040
and Jewish vegans marched together for animal compassion

279
00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:00,460
and animal activism.

280
00:12:01,620 --> 00:12:05,080
So you are a small part of an

281
00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:06,600
international movement.

282
00:12:07,380 --> 00:12:11,000
And every piece matters, everyone that hears your

283
00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:14,880
story, and your motivation is going to be

284
00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:17,400
inspired and hopefully change their lifestyle.

285
00:12:18,020 --> 00:12:20,980
Because the way that they look at animals

286
00:12:20,980 --> 00:12:22,100
and how we treat them.

287
00:12:22,300 --> 00:12:24,360
So I just wanted to say that I

288
00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:25,940
respect you tremendously.

289
00:12:26,500 --> 00:12:28,800
And I'm sure it's been a long and

290
00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:31,260
painful journey, but you are making a difference.

291
00:12:32,060 --> 00:12:33,360
Oh, thank you so much.

292
00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:34,300
Appreciate it, Renee.

293
00:12:34,460 --> 00:12:38,340
And actually, Jane, I mean, we can't do

294
00:12:38,340 --> 00:12:39,080
this alone.

295
00:12:39,380 --> 00:12:41,160
Jane partners with everybody.

296
00:12:41,340 --> 00:12:43,340
She collaborates and she gives so many of

297
00:12:43,340 --> 00:12:46,980
us the opportunity to speak on her beautiful

298
00:12:46,980 --> 00:12:50,260
Unchained TV and exposes these atrocities.

299
00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:53,280
And so you guys can just take what

300
00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,520
you're listening here or watching and just share,

301
00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:57,760
share everywhere.

302
00:12:58,080 --> 00:12:59,980
We've got the social media and let us

303
00:12:59,980 --> 00:13:02,540
create awareness and this movement that you talked

304
00:13:02,540 --> 00:13:03,160
about, Renee.

305
00:13:04,460 --> 00:13:06,320
Wow, that is so powerful.

306
00:13:06,700 --> 00:13:08,400
And I just thank you so much, Renee.

307
00:13:08,500 --> 00:13:11,080
And she's a wonderful supporter of animal rights

308
00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:12,040
here in Los Angeles.

309
00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:14,420
So glad she was able to call in

310
00:13:14,420 --> 00:13:17,440
Michael in Los Angeles, your question or thought

311
00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:20,860
for Sangeeta Iyer of Voices for Asian Elephant

312
00:13:20,860 --> 00:13:21,540
Society.

313
00:13:22,860 --> 00:13:23,920
Yes, good morning, everyone.

314
00:13:24,100 --> 00:13:25,380
Thank you, Jane, for having the show.

315
00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:27,420
And thank you, Sangeeta, for all you're doing.

316
00:13:28,260 --> 00:13:31,240
My question is, you know, in India, are

317
00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:34,460
there any animal protection laws in place to

318
00:13:34,460 --> 00:13:37,480
help these endangered species?

319
00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:40,380
I just wonder how much support you're getting

320
00:13:40,380 --> 00:13:41,060
from the government.

321
00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:42,800
Yeah, thank you.

322
00:13:42,900 --> 00:13:45,120
That's such an important question.

323
00:13:45,340 --> 00:13:49,780
And yes, there are several animal protection laws,

324
00:13:50,020 --> 00:13:52,720
wildlife protection laws, forest protection laws.

325
00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:56,740
The problem is not about having these laws,

326
00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:01,240
but the problem is in implementing these laws.

327
00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:03,000
And that's where, you know, it's not being

328
00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:03,620
enforced.

329
00:14:04,180 --> 00:14:06,720
And so there is a problem with that.

330
00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:08,780
And as a result, and there's corruption, you

331
00:14:08,780 --> 00:14:10,180
know, corruption is rampant.

332
00:14:10,420 --> 00:14:11,980
I don't need to say that a lot

333
00:14:11,980 --> 00:14:14,300
of people know that this is the situation

334
00:14:14,300 --> 00:14:17,760
in India and in many countries, not just

335
00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:18,240
in India.

336
00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:21,280
Corruption is rampant and it's destroying our planet

337
00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:24,920
on all levels in all countries.

338
00:14:25,540 --> 00:14:27,280
And it's no different in India.

339
00:14:27,540 --> 00:14:29,340
And so to answer your question once again,

340
00:14:29,340 --> 00:14:32,840
it's like there are so many laws, but

341
00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:34,140
who's enforcing it?

342
00:14:34,180 --> 00:14:36,220
And do you have the courage to really

343
00:14:36,220 --> 00:14:41,520
enforce it genuinely and authentically rather than just

344
00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:43,480
say, oh, I'm enforcing the law and then

345
00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:46,100
under the table, get some, you know, some

346
00:14:46,100 --> 00:14:46,460
benefit.

347
00:14:47,020 --> 00:14:50,300
So that's the challenge everywhere around the world.

348
00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:51,520
Wow.

349
00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:54,800
And the video that you've taken is so

350
00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:55,680
extraordinary.

351
00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:58,160
I love the comments, but I also just

352
00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:00,200
want to see the video of these animals.

353
00:15:00,980 --> 00:15:03,920
You are doing very specific work to save

354
00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:07,120
these animals who are losing their habitat to

355
00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:09,580
the never ending human encroachment.

356
00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:13,020
As you mentioned, there's only about 25,000

357
00:15:13,020 --> 00:15:15,360
left in India of these Asian elephants.

358
00:15:15,980 --> 00:15:18,100
A lot of them get hit by trains

359
00:15:18,100 --> 00:15:22,920
and you have worked very, very ferociously to

360
00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:26,000
create technology to help them avoid that.

361
00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:27,460
Tell us about that technology.

362
00:15:28,260 --> 00:15:30,200
Yes, I am so excited.

363
00:15:30,340 --> 00:15:32,860
I'm so happy you asked that question, Jane,

364
00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:35,280
because I remember when we were planning to

365
00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:38,840
feature this film called Deadly Tracks on your

366
00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:41,080
channel, you were like, yeah, we need to

367
00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:41,700
give hope.

368
00:15:42,180 --> 00:15:44,480
And I am here to give hope because

369
00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:48,460
we actually partnered with a local conservation organisation

370
00:15:48,460 --> 00:15:50,800
and a couple of them actually, and we

371
00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:57,880
created this amazing groundbreaking technology called EleSense.

372
00:15:58,220 --> 00:16:02,560
And this EleSense technology, it detects elephants around

373
00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:06,160
500 to 750 metres in the surrounding areas.

374
00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:09,640
It detects the presence of elephants through laser

375
00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:12,520
and thermal detectors.

376
00:16:13,340 --> 00:16:15,680
And then it sends out an SMS message

377
00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:19,040
to the forest department, the railway department and

378
00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:20,260
our team.

379
00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:23,680
And then they send a walkie talkie message

380
00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:25,920
to the train pilots to slow down.

381
00:16:25,940 --> 00:16:30,080
And just by doing this, we have averted

382
00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:36,740
637 elephant deaths between January and December 21st

383
00:16:36,740 --> 00:16:37,640
of 2023.

384
00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:40,640
And now we are getting ready to expand

385
00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:40,880
it.

386
00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:43,600
And I am so excited to be able

387
00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:46,120
to return to India and to be able

388
00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:49,040
to expand this project, launch our phase two,

389
00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:52,980
and just instal this in Buxa Tiger Reserve,

390
00:16:53,540 --> 00:16:56,040
where just recently, towards the end of November

391
00:16:56,040 --> 00:17:00,540
2023, three elephants, including a newborn baby elephant,

392
00:17:00,540 --> 00:17:01,660
were killed.

393
00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:03,579
And that was just really gut-wrenching.

394
00:17:04,099 --> 00:17:06,640
And one pregnant elephant was killed towards the

395
00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:08,280
end of August of 2023.

396
00:17:08,819 --> 00:17:10,540
We gotta stop this.

397
00:17:10,839 --> 00:17:13,119
And so we are so excited to be

398
00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:16,140
able to launch this in that area and

399
00:17:16,140 --> 00:17:18,300
hopefully avert more tragedies.

400
00:17:18,460 --> 00:17:22,740
And that's why your donations to vfaes.org,

401
00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:24,260
you see it there on your screen, will

402
00:17:24,260 --> 00:17:27,700
go directly to raising the funds to buy

403
00:17:27,700 --> 00:17:29,620
that technology and put it into place.

404
00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:30,760
It's not free.

405
00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:32,200
More about that in a second.

406
00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:34,980
We've got another caller, Sarah Unhold.

407
00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:37,340
Your question or thoughts, Sarah in LA.

408
00:17:39,340 --> 00:17:39,800
Hi.

409
00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:44,060
My question is, I rode an elephant when

410
00:17:44,060 --> 00:17:46,200
I was about four years old at the

411
00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:47,960
zoo in Louisville, Kentucky.

412
00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:50,060
And I saw recently it was one of

413
00:17:50,060 --> 00:17:52,240
the worst zoos ever.

414
00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:56,200
I think all zoos are prisons where animals

415
00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:56,820
go to die.

416
00:17:56,960 --> 00:17:59,520
But my question is, what are the actual

417
00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:03,020
elephants that they use for people to ride

418
00:18:03,020 --> 00:18:03,460
them?

419
00:18:04,360 --> 00:18:07,000
And what do you have going on that

420
00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,880
people could do like today to help educate

421
00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:13,120
people that, you know, we didn't know that

422
00:18:13,120 --> 00:18:13,720
was wrong?

423
00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:14,580
You know what I mean?

424
00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:15,740
Good question.

425
00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:16,780
Good question.

426
00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:17,560
Sangeeta.

427
00:18:18,540 --> 00:18:20,980
Yeah, so I've produced this film called Brutal

428
00:18:20,980 --> 00:18:22,080
Elephant Rides.

429
00:18:22,380 --> 00:18:24,580
It is again on Unchained TV.

430
00:18:25,060 --> 00:18:26,040
Just go and watch it.

431
00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:27,760
It's only six or seven minutes long.

432
00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:32,200
And I explain the scientific reasons behind why

433
00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:34,100
people should not ride elephants.

434
00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:36,740
They use all kinds of elephants, African and

435
00:18:36,740 --> 00:18:37,500
Asian elephants.

436
00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:40,960
Africans have African elephants have like a convex

437
00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:42,360
kind of back.

438
00:18:43,140 --> 00:18:46,960
Asian elephants have a concave back and protruding

439
00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:47,620
spine.

440
00:18:47,820 --> 00:18:50,440
And when people sit on their backs, it

441
00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:52,700
really, really hurts their spine.

442
00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:55,320
And there's a string that goes underneath their

443
00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:55,920
tail.

444
00:18:56,520 --> 00:18:57,380
They can't poop.

445
00:18:57,560 --> 00:18:59,280
They can't do their stuff.

446
00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:00,780
It's just gut-wrenching.

447
00:19:00,940 --> 00:19:02,880
Imagine somebody doing that to human beings.

448
00:19:03,060 --> 00:19:04,860
I mean, we're not going to tolerate that,

449
00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:05,300
would we?

450
00:19:05,660 --> 00:19:07,620
We do this for horses as to the

451
00:19:07,620 --> 00:19:08,460
horses as well.

452
00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:11,060
Horseback riding, elephant back riding.

453
00:19:11,340 --> 00:19:13,660
These things should become a thing of the

454
00:19:13,660 --> 00:19:17,700
past, honestly, because we consider ourselves to be

455
00:19:17,700 --> 00:19:18,740
highly evolved.

456
00:19:18,740 --> 00:19:23,000
There are so many, you know, articles and

457
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:24,820
research material and videos.

458
00:19:25,020 --> 00:19:26,480
And look at this one that you're just

459
00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:26,900
watching.

460
00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:29,720
Five people, five people and a rider on

461
00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:30,320
these elephants.

462
00:19:30,700 --> 00:19:31,740
It's disgusting.

463
00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:34,460
And I want to say something about my

464
00:19:34,460 --> 00:19:37,400
own experience when I went to India 30

465
00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:38,460
years ago.

466
00:19:38,780 --> 00:19:42,180
And I was very ignorant at the time.

467
00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:44,740
And, you know, to this day, I am

468
00:19:44,740 --> 00:19:47,100
ashamed that I didn't know better.

469
00:19:47,140 --> 00:19:49,180
I rode an elephant with my mother.

470
00:19:49,420 --> 00:19:51,720
I guess you could consider the work I'm

471
00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:53,960
doing right now with you a living amends

472
00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:55,040
to make up for that.

473
00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:57,320
But it brings tears to my eyes because

474
00:19:57,320 --> 00:19:58,400
I feel so guilty.

475
00:19:58,860 --> 00:20:00,060
I didn't know any better.

476
00:20:00,120 --> 00:20:02,940
Like most tourists, I was like, there's elephants.

477
00:20:03,060 --> 00:20:03,820
I love elephants.

478
00:20:03,940 --> 00:20:06,480
Let's ride them without any thought process.

479
00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:09,840
Are you working with, and please forgive me,

480
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:13,000
elephant community, you know, shame on me.

481
00:20:13,380 --> 00:20:15,240
But that was 30 years ago.

482
00:20:15,340 --> 00:20:16,180
I didn't know better.

483
00:20:16,260 --> 00:20:17,060
I know better now.

484
00:20:17,060 --> 00:20:18,880
And now we can spread the word to

485
00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:20,600
other people not to do the same.

486
00:20:20,940 --> 00:20:22,220
Don't ride camels either.

487
00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:24,740
Don't ride donkeys either, wherever you are.

488
00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:26,440
But let's talk about elephants.

489
00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:30,520
A lot of these tour package groups, online

490
00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:36,040
travel agencies will encourage and build a package

491
00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:37,380
that includes an elephant ride.

492
00:20:37,620 --> 00:20:39,180
Is there any kind of campaign to get

493
00:20:39,180 --> 00:20:40,320
them to stop that?

494
00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:42,500
So, yeah, thank you.

495
00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:43,360
That's a great question.

496
00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:45,440
First of all, I want to say to

497
00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:47,280
you, there's no need to be ashamed.

498
00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:50,720
We all do ignorant things because we are

499
00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:51,320
not aware.

500
00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:54,980
And your salvation is by doing what you're

501
00:20:54,980 --> 00:20:56,020
doing right now.

502
00:20:56,420 --> 00:21:00,320
You know, you're healing by actually sort of

503
00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:04,360
repenting and whatever, like you're spreading these beautiful

504
00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:04,880
messages.

505
00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:07,320
So please don't feel ashamed.

506
00:21:07,500 --> 00:21:10,460
And nobody should feel ashamed, especially if you

507
00:21:10,460 --> 00:21:11,700
did this out of ignorance.

508
00:21:12,020 --> 00:21:15,380
But if you did this intentionally, knowing what's

509
00:21:15,380 --> 00:21:18,720
going on, then it is definitely shame on

510
00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:19,040
you.

511
00:21:19,460 --> 00:21:19,560
Okay.

512
00:21:19,780 --> 00:21:22,420
But to answer your question with regards to

513
00:21:22,420 --> 00:21:25,880
campaigns, yes, in the UK, the Born Free

514
00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:29,120
Foundation has been doing a tremendous job with

515
00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:30,380
campaigns.

516
00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:33,920
Pren, which is pro elephant network that I'm

517
00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:37,080
a part of, they also have launched several

518
00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:37,540
campaigns.

519
00:21:37,660 --> 00:21:41,080
It's not just as a package included, even

520
00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:46,160
in these temples, they've started including elephants that

521
00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:49,220
are tethered behind the temples as packages.

522
00:21:49,660 --> 00:21:52,140
And so I have actually launched a high

523
00:21:52,140 --> 00:21:56,920
court case in Kerala against a temple that

524
00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:00,500
actually owns some 49, 50 elephants, all of

525
00:22:00,500 --> 00:22:03,680
them crammed inside like an elephant factory farm.

526
00:22:04,100 --> 00:22:06,920
And it's disgusting what's happening there.

527
00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:09,460
So, but over the last year, I've been

528
00:22:09,460 --> 00:22:10,720
fighting alone.

529
00:22:11,020 --> 00:22:12,540
And this year, we're going to continue with

530
00:22:12,540 --> 00:22:16,240
the fight, Supreme Court case, Supreme Court cases,

531
00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:19,080
high court cases, a lot of these kinds

532
00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:22,100
of campaigns, you know, to have people sign

533
00:22:22,100 --> 00:22:22,620
the petition.

534
00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:24,840
And when you see a petition, guys, take

535
00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:26,940
a second to sign, it's not going to

536
00:22:26,940 --> 00:22:30,300
really cost you anything to take just 30

537
00:22:30,300 --> 00:22:31,400
seconds, 40 seconds.

538
00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:35,560
You can go to bfaes.org, you can

539
00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:38,520
donate there, you can also sign petitions and

540
00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:39,080
get involved.

541
00:22:39,460 --> 00:22:41,600
Obviously, Sangeeta cannot do this alone.

542
00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,080
She has a small team, but it requires

543
00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:44,900
donations.

544
00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:49,340
I mean, to be able to how much

545
00:22:49,340 --> 00:22:54,200
does it cost for each implementation of a

546
00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:58,340
device that would prevent a train hitting an

547
00:22:58,340 --> 00:23:01,940
elephant or elephant family like that package?

548
00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:03,360
What does that cost?

549
00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:08,080
So it's not just one device, per stretch

550
00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:11,960
of eight kilometres, we need 40 devices and

551
00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:18,420
4440 devices of installation, preparation, organisation, and the

552
00:23:18,420 --> 00:23:21,280
whole works collaboration with everybody like and even

553
00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:24,060
creating the device from the scratch, getting the

554
00:23:24,060 --> 00:23:26,700
components, all of that inclusive, it's about $50

555
00:23:26,700 --> 00:23:27,180
,000.

556
00:23:27,700 --> 00:23:30,260
But it's, yeah, it's nothing, right?

557
00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:32,460
It's like an eight kilometre stretch, and you

558
00:23:32,460 --> 00:23:33,740
have 40 devices.

559
00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:38,820
And if it can save 637 elephant, I

560
00:23:38,820 --> 00:23:42,880
mean, avert 637 elephant deaths, then is it

561
00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:43,380
worth it?

562
00:23:43,460 --> 00:23:45,380
You know, that's the question we asked, because

563
00:23:45,380 --> 00:23:48,660
we are already producing results, amazing results.

564
00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:51,320
And so that was a pilot project.

565
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:53,360
And now we are getting ready to launch

566
00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:54,540
our second phase.

567
00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:57,860
Let's go to questions that are online.

568
00:23:57,980 --> 00:23:58,800
There are people watching.

569
00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:00,980
We're on all different platforms on our streaming

570
00:24:00,980 --> 00:24:03,300
network, which is behind me, as well as

571
00:24:03,300 --> 00:24:09,720
Facebook, as well as YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, X.

572
00:24:10,260 --> 00:24:15,940
Okay, so Bruce wants to know, and this

573
00:24:15,940 --> 00:24:16,860
is an important question.

574
00:24:16,940 --> 00:24:20,100
Can you respond to Britain's law, Low Welfare

575
00:24:20,100 --> 00:24:23,760
Activities Abroad Act, the UK does have funds

576
00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:26,900
designated to help with elephant welfare in the

577
00:24:26,900 --> 00:24:29,600
range country, specifically India?

578
00:24:30,620 --> 00:24:32,680
Yeah, that's a really brilliant question.

579
00:24:32,980 --> 00:24:35,040
Speaking of which, I was invited to speak

580
00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:37,840
at the UK Parliament in June of 2023.

581
00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:41,760
And I'm closely working with a member of

582
00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:43,980
the Parliament called Henry Smith.

583
00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:47,160
He is he's the one that actually pushed

584
00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:49,480
this law that you're talking about forward.

585
00:24:49,780 --> 00:24:53,600
And he's done an amazing job campaigning.

586
00:24:53,780 --> 00:24:57,960
He's our caution.

587
00:24:58,340 --> 00:24:59,460
It's escaping me.

588
00:24:59,500 --> 00:25:00,660
He is one of our patrons.

589
00:25:01,180 --> 00:25:03,600
And he has been incredibly supportive.

590
00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:05,300
So yes, we are working with them.

591
00:25:05,580 --> 00:25:08,720
The problem is every government is afraid of,

592
00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:11,440
you know, ruffling feathers with the with other

593
00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:14,180
countries, and they're trying to be cautious and

594
00:25:15,360 --> 00:25:18,580
and, you know, there's always this backlash of,

595
00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:23,740
oh, you being, you know, the the kind

596
00:25:23,740 --> 00:25:26,480
of people who dominated our country, why are

597
00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:29,120
you coming back and telling us what to

598
00:25:29,120 --> 00:25:29,500
do?

599
00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:34,100
There's all these, you know, reverse racism happening,

600
00:25:34,100 --> 00:25:38,580
and they use everything possible to really not

601
00:25:38,580 --> 00:25:39,660
address the issue.

602
00:25:39,820 --> 00:25:40,980
That's the whole problem.

603
00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:42,960
Like, if we just kind of peel off

604
00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:46,240
all these nasty layers, and just get to

605
00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:48,660
the bottom of it, the problem is we

606
00:25:48,660 --> 00:25:51,180
are talking about protecting elephants.

607
00:25:51,460 --> 00:25:53,120
We're not talking about racism.

608
00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:56,300
We're not talking about, oh, colonialism, that you

609
00:25:56,300 --> 00:25:58,820
guys dominated our country, and now you're coming

610
00:25:58,820 --> 00:26:00,100
back to tell us what to do.

611
00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:02,780
No, we are experiencing these things.

612
00:26:02,940 --> 00:26:05,540
And of course, you know, as, as a,

613
00:26:05,540 --> 00:26:08,500
you know, partner nation, we are providing you

614
00:26:08,500 --> 00:26:11,660
with certain amounts to do certain things.

615
00:26:12,140 --> 00:26:13,120
What are you doing?

616
00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:15,240
You know, and so they do have the

617
00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:17,180
right to ask, but everybody is kind of

618
00:26:17,180 --> 00:26:19,940
kind of walking on eggshells, you know, so

619
00:26:19,940 --> 00:26:21,700
that's, that's the whole issue.

620
00:26:22,100 --> 00:26:23,540
I understand what you're saying, Bruce.

621
00:26:23,620 --> 00:26:24,580
Thanks for that question.

622
00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:27,380
Wow, yeah, the elephants don't know.

623
00:26:27,580 --> 00:26:29,140
I always say here in the United States,

624
00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:31,060
they don't know if you're Democrat, Republican, liberal

625
00:26:31,060 --> 00:26:31,700
or conservative.

626
00:26:32,120 --> 00:26:36,120
If you are being tortured, you just want

627
00:26:36,120 --> 00:26:37,380
to stop being tortured.

628
00:26:38,060 --> 00:26:41,660
So this is really a fascinating conversation.

629
00:26:42,060 --> 00:26:45,360
And I'm sorry to say, but similar issues

630
00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:48,400
are happening with different species all over the

631
00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:48,900
world.

632
00:26:49,100 --> 00:26:52,640
Just last week, on this very show, we

633
00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:57,500
were talking about the war against kangaroos in

634
00:26:57,500 --> 00:27:01,760
Australia, and how kangaroos are not shoes, and

635
00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:05,480
how the Australian government sides with the people

636
00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:06,920
killing the kangaroos.

637
00:27:07,020 --> 00:27:08,960
And that's why there is now an Animal

638
00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:12,260
Justice Party in Australia to fight for the

639
00:27:12,260 --> 00:27:12,920
kangaroos.

640
00:27:13,140 --> 00:27:16,660
Because as the member of parliament we had

641
00:27:16,660 --> 00:27:19,820
on Emma Hearst said, even the Environmental Party

642
00:27:19,820 --> 00:27:22,800
is in favour of wiping out these kangaroos.

643
00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:24,720
And they claim their pests and they claim

644
00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:26,720
they're rising in numbers when the research shows

645
00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:28,960
they're dramatically dropping in numbers.

646
00:27:29,380 --> 00:27:33,160
And if we lose all this wildlife, we're

647
00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:34,040
going to go too.

648
00:27:34,620 --> 00:27:37,540
And we're at the point now where we

649
00:27:37,540 --> 00:27:43,860
have reduced mammal wildlife biomass to only 4

650
00:27:43,860 --> 00:27:48,600
% of total mammal biomass, where we've increased

651
00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:52,580
the biomass of livestock, meaning animals raised to

652
00:27:52,580 --> 00:27:55,500
be killed for food, to 62%.

653
00:27:55,500 --> 00:28:00,660
So we're really barreling toward mass extinction.

654
00:28:01,540 --> 00:28:05,600
So it's just insane to me that people

655
00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:07,780
don't see this for what it is, and

656
00:28:07,780 --> 00:28:10,760
they just buy this, oh, they're pests, or

657
00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:14,000
it's religious, or there's no excuse for animal

658
00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:14,460
abuse.

659
00:28:14,460 --> 00:28:17,700
Yeah, I just want to say one thing

660
00:28:17,700 --> 00:28:18,380
very quickly.

661
00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:22,440
The National Academy of Sciences has produced a

662
00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:27,260
research which suggests that humans make up only

663
00:28:27,260 --> 00:28:30,680
0.02% of the earth's biomass.

664
00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:34,760
And yet our species has managed to decimate

665
00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:37,140
83% of the wildlife.

666
00:28:37,620 --> 00:28:39,980
Imagine 83% of the wildlife we have

667
00:28:39,980 --> 00:28:40,560
decimated.

668
00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:47,020
Every single day, every 24 hours, 150 to

669
00:28:47,020 --> 00:28:52,520
200 species of birds, mammals, reptiles are going

670
00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:54,740
extinct because of our activities.

671
00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:56,660
So at some point, we need to take

672
00:28:56,660 --> 00:28:57,060
action.

673
00:28:57,240 --> 00:28:59,820
And as Jane so beautifully said, when these

674
00:28:59,820 --> 00:29:03,380
species become extinct, we are actually going to

675
00:29:03,380 --> 00:29:06,600
collapse along with this magnificent web of life.

676
00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:08,240
It's so scary.

677
00:29:08,460 --> 00:29:09,760
We're going to take a short break here

678
00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:13,080
on Voice America Radio, but we're staying alive

679
00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:15,760
on the Unchained TV network.

680
00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:18,200
We're staying live on all of our socials.

681
00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:20,060
We'll be back in a second.

682
00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:22,440
Thank you so much for that.

683
00:29:22,700 --> 00:29:24,180
Always love that music.

684
00:29:24,620 --> 00:29:27,200
And I always take this opportunity to tell

685
00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:30,760
folks about our streaming network.

686
00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:34,760
You can download this streaming network, and it's

687
00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:35,980
absolutely free.

688
00:29:36,220 --> 00:29:37,980
You can download it on your phone.

689
00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:40,080
You can download it on your TV.

690
00:29:40,300 --> 00:29:41,660
It's on all Samsung TVs.

691
00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:43,640
You can also get it via Amazon Fire

692
00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:46,140
Stick, your Roku device, your Apple TV device,

693
00:29:46,220 --> 00:29:47,100
all those little devices.

694
00:29:47,260 --> 00:29:49,020
You just put an Unchained TV one word,

695
00:29:49,180 --> 00:29:50,480
and it pops right up.

696
00:29:50,820 --> 00:29:52,020
And people actually don't believe this.

697
00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:53,180
They say, well, what's your angle?

698
00:29:53,740 --> 00:29:55,500
Well, there is no angle except trying to

699
00:29:55,500 --> 00:29:57,720
save the planet, because it doesn't matter how

700
00:29:57,720 --> 00:29:58,640
much money you have.

701
00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:01,180
If there's no planet, it doesn't matter.

702
00:30:01,700 --> 00:30:03,340
Okay, so we are free.

703
00:30:03,340 --> 00:30:05,940
We give away the content for free just

704
00:30:05,940 --> 00:30:09,320
to wake people up because the mainstream media

705
00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:11,600
is not covering the story.

706
00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:16,320
Yes, brilliant manoeuvres by people like Sajita Iyer

707
00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:20,700
to do an entire documentary could result in

708
00:30:20,700 --> 00:30:21,760
an article.

709
00:30:22,060 --> 00:30:25,280
So you had an article in the BBC

710
00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:31,160
about saving elephants from torture in temples.

711
00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:35,140
But you had to spend years, risk your

712
00:30:35,140 --> 00:30:38,140
life, and spend pretty much all your money

713
00:30:38,140 --> 00:30:40,360
to get that done to get one article

714
00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:43,720
in the BBC and other articles.

715
00:30:44,220 --> 00:30:46,560
But the point is that it shouldn't require

716
00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:51,900
heroic, extraordinary efforts, Herculean efforts to get these

717
00:30:51,900 --> 00:30:54,000
issues that are so important covered by the

718
00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:54,400
mainstream.

719
00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:56,540
And when we come back, I want to

720
00:30:56,540 --> 00:31:01,480
find out if Indian media is telling your

721
00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:05,140
story, because this is a story really about

722
00:31:05,140 --> 00:31:05,640
India.

723
00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:10,900
And these 25,000 elephants that still exist

724
00:31:10,900 --> 00:31:14,600
in India, it's going to require a group

725
00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:14,960
effort.

726
00:31:15,180 --> 00:31:17,760
You're doing everything you can to save India's

727
00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:18,060
elephants.

728
00:31:18,180 --> 00:31:20,040
But it's going to require the government.

729
00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:21,400
It's going to require corporations.

730
00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:24,260
It's going to require donors from around the

731
00:31:24,260 --> 00:31:27,020
world for you to achieve your vision.

732
00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:32,800
Just saving them from the train tracks is

733
00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:36,140
$50,000 for one short period of train

734
00:31:36,140 --> 00:31:36,520
tracks.

735
00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:39,440
So we're going to come back right now

736
00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:41,380
to our broadcast.

737
00:31:41,980 --> 00:31:43,680
We thank Voice of America for giving us

738
00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:45,660
this chance to speak.

739
00:31:46,900 --> 00:31:49,280
You are listening to Unchained TV.

740
00:31:49,620 --> 00:31:51,520
To reach the show today, call in to

741
00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:54,460
1-866-472-5788.

742
00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:58,400
That's 1-866-472-5788.

743
00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:00,680
You may also send an email in to

744
00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:03,240
jane at unchainedtv.com.

745
00:32:03,460 --> 00:32:04,780
Now back to the show.

746
00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:08,480
We are talking to Sangeeta Iyer.

747
00:32:08,620 --> 00:32:09,820
She took this video.

748
00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:13,380
She has devoted her life to saving India's

749
00:32:13,380 --> 00:32:13,820
elephants.

750
00:32:14,460 --> 00:32:16,340
They are in trouble, people.

751
00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:19,500
They need our help in order to survive.

752
00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:23,540
She has documented some of the biggest problems.

753
00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:26,140
The fact is India is one of the

754
00:32:26,140 --> 00:32:29,160
world's most populous nations, and more and more

755
00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:31,740
people are encroaching on the elephant's habitat.

756
00:32:32,340 --> 00:32:35,960
There's also the trains, and she has unveiled

757
00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:39,260
a plan that is already saving elephants' lives

758
00:32:39,260 --> 00:32:43,880
to put high-tech frequencies where the train

759
00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:46,700
operators know there's an elephant and can avoid

760
00:32:46,700 --> 00:32:47,320
killing them.

761
00:32:47,380 --> 00:32:49,160
It has already saved a lot of lives.

762
00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:51,480
She's also got a campaign against elephant riding,

763
00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:54,860
and perhaps most notably with her film Gods

764
00:32:54,860 --> 00:32:57,480
and Shackles, which won so many awards, she

765
00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:01,820
is fighting the abduction and breaking of these

766
00:33:01,820 --> 00:33:04,460
animals for use in temple ceremonies.

767
00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:07,000
Why you?

768
00:33:07,740 --> 00:33:11,220
Sangeeta, tell us what your story is and

769
00:33:11,220 --> 00:33:14,600
why you decided to devote your life to

770
00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:15,360
this cause.

771
00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:19,120
Before I do that, I just wanted to

772
00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:21,680
quickly say that the footage that you saw,

773
00:33:21,820 --> 00:33:23,500
yes, I filmed it on my own, but

774
00:33:23,500 --> 00:33:25,100
I could not have done it without the

775
00:33:25,100 --> 00:33:27,340
support of National Geographic Society.

776
00:33:27,580 --> 00:33:29,240
They believed in my mission, and I produced

777
00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:32,180
this 26-part short docu-series of which

778
00:33:32,180 --> 00:33:35,120
nine of them are streaming on NatGeo, multiple

779
00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:38,160
NatGeo channels, and the rest, and including the

780
00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:41,960
ones on NatGeo, are streaming on Unchained TV

781
00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:42,480
as well.

782
00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:44,740
So my journey began when I was a

783
00:33:44,740 --> 00:33:45,660
three-year-old child.

784
00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:47,700
My grandparents used to take me to this

785
00:33:47,700 --> 00:33:48,040
temple.

786
00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:49,680
I was born and raised in the southern

787
00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:54,300
Indian state of Kerala, and my grandmother, actually,

788
00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:55,960
she would just take me to the temple

789
00:33:55,960 --> 00:33:58,840
and just leave me at the feet of

790
00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:01,260
a bull elephant, and the two of us

791
00:34:01,260 --> 00:34:03,620
would hang out, and this bull would take

792
00:34:03,620 --> 00:34:04,880
care of me like I was his own

793
00:34:04,880 --> 00:34:05,340
child.

794
00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:07,820
He would just hold me, and I mean,

795
00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:09,420
I had no fear at all.

796
00:34:09,480 --> 00:34:11,219
It's almost like I was looking forward to

797
00:34:11,219 --> 00:34:13,719
it while my grandparents went into the altar

798
00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:15,040
and prayed and worshipped.

799
00:34:15,159 --> 00:34:17,940
I just hung out with the So the

800
00:34:17,940 --> 00:34:20,760
love, my love for elephants goes really, really

801
00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:24,980
deep, and then one day when I became

802
00:34:24,980 --> 00:34:27,320
a teenager, my grandma actually told me a

803
00:34:27,320 --> 00:34:29,360
story, and she said that, Sangeeta, do you

804
00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:31,120
know when you were four or five years

805
00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:34,440
old, you once asked me this question, how

806
00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:36,940
come that chain has a shackle, and how

807
00:34:36,940 --> 00:34:39,139
come I don't have anything like that on

808
00:34:39,139 --> 00:34:39,760
my legs?

809
00:34:40,179 --> 00:34:42,280
So my smart grandma, she went out and

810
00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:45,000
bought like anklets, and she wore me the

811
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:46,920
anklets, and she said, look, now you have

812
00:34:46,920 --> 00:34:48,840
it too, and I said, no, no, but

813
00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:50,880
their anklets are tied together.

814
00:34:51,260 --> 00:34:54,060
They can't even move their legs, but I

815
00:34:54,060 --> 00:34:56,820
can walk freely, and my grandma said I

816
00:34:56,820 --> 00:34:58,580
became totally speechless.

817
00:34:59,300 --> 00:35:01,140
So now when I look back at that

818
00:35:01,140 --> 00:35:03,620
story, which is actually documented in my book,

819
00:35:03,860 --> 00:35:09,040
Gods and Shackles, I think that my destiny

820
00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:11,260
had been carved out when I was, you

821
00:35:11,260 --> 00:35:13,540
know, three or four years old, because I

822
00:35:13,540 --> 00:35:16,240
was paying deep attention, and I started asking

823
00:35:16,240 --> 00:35:19,700
profound questions to my grandma and my grandpa,

824
00:35:19,960 --> 00:35:22,420
and then, of course, life took over.

825
00:35:22,900 --> 00:35:25,520
I moved to Mumbai with my parents.

826
00:35:25,720 --> 00:35:27,760
Of course, we still had elephants there.

827
00:35:28,280 --> 00:35:30,720
You know, in Mumbai, there are some places

828
00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:33,360
where there are elephants, and every time I

829
00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:35,340
saw an elephant, my heart would skip a

830
00:35:35,340 --> 00:35:35,520
beat.

831
00:35:35,660 --> 00:35:37,760
It's almost like this is my love, the

832
00:35:37,760 --> 00:35:41,060
love of my life, and then, of course,

833
00:35:41,060 --> 00:35:43,500
I moved to Canada, and I've been living

834
00:35:43,500 --> 00:35:46,560
here for 35 years, so I mean a

835
00:35:46,560 --> 00:35:50,300
lot happened in between, but about 12 years

836
00:35:50,300 --> 00:35:52,920
ago, I returned to Kerala where I was

837
00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:55,480
born, and one of my friends said I

838
00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:58,080
want to take you to the temples there

839
00:35:58,080 --> 00:36:00,600
so you can see what's happening with the

840
00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:03,660
elephants, because he knew that I love elephants,

841
00:36:03,900 --> 00:36:05,980
and I said, okay, I'll bring a camera,

842
00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:07,760
and I brought my camera, and I started

843
00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:11,000
filming as a videographer, and I was utterly

844
00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:11,680
devastated.

845
00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:14,500
All this footage that you're seeing, I gathered

846
00:36:14,500 --> 00:36:18,820
this with my mini camera, hidden camera, and

847
00:36:18,820 --> 00:36:20,880
I shared it, and I used it to

848
00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:22,820
produce my short films, and then, of course,

849
00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:25,780
I hired another camera person to film some

850
00:36:25,780 --> 00:36:27,440
of the things that you saw in Gods

851
00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:29,900
and Shackles, but the images that you're seeing

852
00:36:29,900 --> 00:36:32,900
now, those were filmed for the 26-part

853
00:36:32,900 --> 00:36:35,840
short docu-series, The Wild Elephants, and so

854
00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:42,380
began my journey in 2012, 2013, and I

855
00:36:42,380 --> 00:36:45,760
gathered approximately 400 hours of footage and then

856
00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:47,500
produced this film, Gods and Shackles.

857
00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:49,620
Little did I know that it would garner

858
00:36:49,620 --> 00:36:52,120
the attention of the United Nations General Assembly,

859
00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:55,520
where it was screened and nominated for the

860
00:36:55,520 --> 00:36:56,620
World Wildlife Day.

861
00:36:57,280 --> 00:36:59,420
It was just really touching, and it won

862
00:36:59,420 --> 00:37:03,540
approximately 12 International Film Festival Awards, even the

863
00:37:03,540 --> 00:37:08,200
most prestigious Indian Film Festival Award, and I

864
00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:10,860
was so humbled to receive an award from

865
00:37:10,860 --> 00:37:13,440
the President of India for this documentary, so

866
00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:16,580
all these things, I mean, it's not, I'm

867
00:37:16,580 --> 00:37:18,500
not bragging about all the things.

868
00:37:18,740 --> 00:37:21,660
You have to say, you know, you have

869
00:37:21,660 --> 00:37:23,560
to say what you've accomplished, so people can

870
00:37:23,560 --> 00:37:26,680
understand and know why they should support you.

871
00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:30,420
Oh, thank you, and I say this because

872
00:37:30,420 --> 00:37:33,800
I didn't produce the film to win anything.

873
00:37:34,220 --> 00:37:36,920
I produced the film just so people get

874
00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:39,520
to see the suffering of the elephants, and

875
00:37:39,520 --> 00:37:42,320
they, you know, they try to help them,

876
00:37:42,380 --> 00:37:45,360
they change their habits, they change their mindsets,

877
00:37:45,700 --> 00:37:48,220
and thinking it is happening, and hey, I'm

878
00:37:48,220 --> 00:37:49,800
going to tell you something else.

879
00:37:50,260 --> 00:37:53,360
Okay, so after my film had been launched,

880
00:37:53,620 --> 00:37:56,180
and over the last, say, five, six years,

881
00:37:56,460 --> 00:37:59,300
people have started getting a feel that, oh

882
00:37:59,300 --> 00:38:00,740
my God, this is not right, this is

883
00:38:00,740 --> 00:38:01,140
not right.

884
00:38:01,240 --> 00:38:01,780
Guess what?

885
00:38:01,860 --> 00:38:06,620
They've started launching robotic elephants in Kerala, and

886
00:38:06,620 --> 00:38:09,660
many temples, many temples are now using, and

887
00:38:09,660 --> 00:38:11,840
I am so proud to share with you,

888
00:38:11,980 --> 00:38:14,060
this is the news that I'm breaking here,

889
00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:18,560
that our organisation, Voices for Asian Elephants, is

890
00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:21,260
going to be launching a robotic elephant.

891
00:38:21,860 --> 00:38:22,980
I'm so excited.

892
00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:25,300
I can't tell you when, where, and how,

893
00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:28,060
but very soon, because I don't want the

894
00:38:28,060 --> 00:38:31,840
saboteurs to come and sabotage our efforts, so

895
00:38:31,840 --> 00:38:35,220
I'm excited, so excited that one step at

896
00:38:35,220 --> 00:38:37,720
a time, we're really making changes, and then

897
00:38:37,720 --> 00:38:41,640
in June 2023, remember you talked about people

898
00:38:41,640 --> 00:38:44,720
occupying the space, Jane, what we did was

899
00:38:44,720 --> 00:38:47,160
we bought a four-acre plot of land

900
00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:50,680
in Kerala, and we are rewilding this land,

901
00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:52,280
so what, I mean, you may think, oh,

902
00:38:52,300 --> 00:38:54,440
it's just four acres, but here's the thing,

903
00:38:54,700 --> 00:38:56,760
you have a forest patch on one side,

904
00:38:56,800 --> 00:38:58,500
and then on the other side, and in

905
00:38:58,500 --> 00:39:00,900
the middle, you have tea plantations, you have,

906
00:39:00,900 --> 00:39:04,000
you know, rubber plantations, so what we did

907
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:06,740
was we bought that four-acre space in

908
00:39:06,740 --> 00:39:09,860
between these two forest patches, cleared up the

909
00:39:09,860 --> 00:39:12,440
whole thing, and connected, so we have created

910
00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:17,360
a corridor, and 340 plus elephants can now

911
00:39:17,360 --> 00:39:21,620
wander that space freely and happily without any

912
00:39:21,620 --> 00:39:24,580
concerns, because we have created the safe place,

913
00:39:24,920 --> 00:39:27,240
safe space, there is no, there are no

914
00:39:27,240 --> 00:39:31,020
electrical fencing, there are no wells, I'm returning

915
00:39:31,020 --> 00:39:33,660
to India to see all of this, and

916
00:39:33,660 --> 00:39:35,780
again, I'm not saying when exactly, but very

917
00:39:35,780 --> 00:39:38,260
soon, and I'm just so excited that we're

918
00:39:38,260 --> 00:39:40,900
going to continue to do this work, and

919
00:39:40,900 --> 00:39:42,940
make sure that elephant, we protect elephants in

920
00:39:42,940 --> 00:39:45,300
every which way, but again, like Jane said,

921
00:39:45,540 --> 00:39:49,100
all of these projects require funding, so anything

922
00:39:49,100 --> 00:39:51,880
you can do to support, you'll be part

923
00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:56,500
of our wonderful elephant-saving mission, so thank

924
00:39:56,500 --> 00:39:58,080
you so much, Jane, this is awesome.

925
00:39:58,360 --> 00:40:00,160
Wow, this is so exciting, you've heard it

926
00:40:00,160 --> 00:40:03,660
here, breaking news, this is the first time

927
00:40:03,660 --> 00:40:07,340
this has come out, that robotic elephants are

928
00:40:07,340 --> 00:40:10,080
going to be used in India in place

929
00:40:10,080 --> 00:40:13,880
of actual elephants, and you know, when one's

930
00:40:13,880 --> 00:40:16,080
a success, everybody's going to want to follow,

931
00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:19,200
so are you saying, this is fascinating, I

932
00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:22,360
think this is big, and you know, we

933
00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:24,700
could always appeal to the idea that so

934
00:40:24,700 --> 00:40:26,680
much technology is coming out of India right

935
00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:29,320
now, you know, in other words, not sell

936
00:40:29,320 --> 00:40:31,340
it even on an animal rights basis, but

937
00:40:31,340 --> 00:40:33,160
sell it on, this is the future, this

938
00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:36,600
is technology, don't you want to be the

939
00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:40,000
leader in a technological revolution, and so that's

940
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:41,880
another way to get like the government on

941
00:40:41,880 --> 00:40:43,860
board, just even leave animals out of it,

942
00:40:44,240 --> 00:40:46,140
so is this for temples?

943
00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:49,100
Yeah, this is for a temple, this is

944
00:40:49,100 --> 00:40:53,020
for a temple in the bordering state, so

945
00:40:53,020 --> 00:40:58,060
there's this little, I can't discuss more details,

946
00:40:58,300 --> 00:41:01,700
because I know, leave it, oh, we've got

947
00:41:01,700 --> 00:41:04,140
a caller actually, is Jose still on hold,

948
00:41:04,240 --> 00:41:08,800
I'm sorry, he's been waiting a while, Jose,

949
00:41:09,240 --> 00:41:12,360
sorry to keep you waiting, your question or

950
00:41:12,360 --> 00:41:12,700
thought.

951
00:41:14,040 --> 00:41:16,260
No, it's totally fine, no, no, it's very

952
00:41:16,260 --> 00:41:19,280
fascinating hearing about the electronic elephants, I think

953
00:41:19,280 --> 00:41:21,540
that's a brilliant idea, it'll still bring tourists

954
00:41:21,540 --> 00:41:23,100
in, and but you know, obviously there'll be

955
00:41:23,100 --> 00:41:24,740
no animals involved, I just wanted to say

956
00:41:24,740 --> 00:41:26,380
thank you for defending the elephants, I think

957
00:41:26,380 --> 00:41:28,780
they're beautiful creatures, I just had a quick

958
00:41:28,780 --> 00:41:31,260
question, why do you believe the people of

959
00:41:31,260 --> 00:41:35,080
India ignore the non-violent religious principle of

960
00:41:35,080 --> 00:41:35,380
Himsa?

961
00:41:35,720 --> 00:41:36,320
Thank you.

962
00:41:36,860 --> 00:41:40,120
Whoa, what a great question, thank you, Jose,

963
00:41:40,620 --> 00:41:42,540
sorry, once more, what was the question?

964
00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:46,200
Why do the people of India ignore the

965
00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:49,180
spiritual principle, I don't know much about this

966
00:41:49,180 --> 00:41:51,880
religion, or any religion, so I don't want

967
00:41:51,880 --> 00:41:54,080
to say the wrong religion, but the principle

968
00:41:54,080 --> 00:41:57,380
of a Himsa is a religious principle, and

969
00:41:57,380 --> 00:42:00,160
that's non-violence, and yet violence is being

970
00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:00,720
ignored.

971
00:42:01,780 --> 00:42:04,520
Yeah, yeah, I got it, okay, sorry, that

972
00:42:04,520 --> 00:42:07,940
I missed that word ignored, okay, so I,

973
00:42:08,220 --> 00:42:09,700
you know, that's a good question, I don't

974
00:42:09,700 --> 00:42:12,020
have a straightforward answer, if I said I

975
00:42:12,020 --> 00:42:14,380
did, then I would be lying, but what

976
00:42:14,380 --> 00:42:17,660
I think is going on, is that the

977
00:42:17,660 --> 00:42:20,900
elephant mafias, as I call them, the elephant

978
00:42:20,900 --> 00:42:24,800
owners, they are brainwashing, I mean, we see

979
00:42:24,800 --> 00:42:28,120
brainwashing happening in the United States right now,

980
00:42:28,200 --> 00:42:30,200
I mean, and in different parts of the

981
00:42:30,200 --> 00:42:34,200
world, everywhere, so there are these memes that

982
00:42:34,200 --> 00:42:36,900
they put out, saying, oh, this is part

983
00:42:36,900 --> 00:42:38,380
of our culture, this is part of our

984
00:42:38,380 --> 00:42:40,940
traditions, we got to do this, and so

985
00:42:40,940 --> 00:42:43,380
there are so many gullible people who buy

986
00:42:43,380 --> 00:42:46,380
into that, and these people, they don't see,

987
00:42:46,520 --> 00:42:49,600
they don't go behind the scenes to investigate

988
00:42:49,600 --> 00:42:52,520
the way I did, and even if somebody

989
00:42:52,520 --> 00:42:54,640
like me said, you know, that these things

990
00:42:54,640 --> 00:42:56,900
are happening, they would feel sad, you know,

991
00:42:56,920 --> 00:42:59,060
when the movie was being screened across India,

992
00:42:59,440 --> 00:43:03,140
so many, in the thousands, in the droves,

993
00:43:03,260 --> 00:43:06,000
people showed up in theatres, and to talk

994
00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:07,700
to me, to touch me, and all these

995
00:43:07,700 --> 00:43:10,960
kinds of things, I'm like, let's just, I'm

996
00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:13,660
not, I'm just a messenger, the message here

997
00:43:13,660 --> 00:43:17,680
is that we actually live up to our,

998
00:43:17,680 --> 00:43:20,460
you know, whatever, ahimsa, which is what India

999
00:43:20,460 --> 00:43:23,500
is grounded in, ahimsa is not a religious

1000
00:43:23,500 --> 00:43:26,780
principle, but it is something that India is

1001
00:43:26,780 --> 00:43:29,620
grounded in, and it was actually launched by

1002
00:43:29,620 --> 00:43:32,320
Mahatma Gandhi, and you know, he said, the

1003
00:43:32,320 --> 00:43:34,680
greatness of a nation and its moral progress

1004
00:43:34,680 --> 00:43:37,340
is determined by the way the elephant, I

1005
00:43:37,340 --> 00:43:39,100
mean, the animals are treated, of course, I

1006
00:43:39,100 --> 00:43:42,520
said elephants are treated, but yeah, that's, that's,

1007
00:43:42,520 --> 00:43:44,360
that's, that's what it is, and so when

1008
00:43:44,360 --> 00:43:47,200
these people are brainwashed, they just don't know

1009
00:43:47,200 --> 00:43:50,400
what to do, and you create awareness, you're

1010
00:43:50,400 --> 00:43:53,740
empowering them, I've launched my second NatGeo project,

1011
00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:57,060
where we are actually talking to school teachers

1012
00:43:57,060 --> 00:44:01,640
to start implementing ecological principles in their curriculum,

1013
00:44:02,040 --> 00:44:03,280
and this is something that I'm going to

1014
00:44:03,280 --> 00:44:06,180
be launching, it's going to be completed next

1015
00:44:06,180 --> 00:44:08,900
year, so we're starting now from scratch, so

1016
00:44:08,900 --> 00:44:12,040
I'm doing, on the outside, these films, etc.,

1017
00:44:12,040 --> 00:44:13,600
we are launching, and then we are doing

1018
00:44:13,600 --> 00:44:15,220
the projects, and then we are going into

1019
00:44:15,220 --> 00:44:17,680
schools, and then we're helping teachers create curriculum

1020
00:44:17,680 --> 00:44:20,920
units, I mean, it's all, like, we're leaving

1021
00:44:20,920 --> 00:44:25,980
no stone unturned, and ultimately, I just hope

1022
00:44:26,500 --> 00:44:29,840
that it resonates with people, and they, and

1023
00:44:29,840 --> 00:44:32,040
they are speaking out, like I said, and

1024
00:44:32,040 --> 00:44:34,140
a lot of temples are now embracing and,

1025
00:44:34,360 --> 00:44:36,280
you know, using robotic elephants, and we are

1026
00:44:36,280 --> 00:44:38,580
going to be launching one, so it takes

1027
00:44:38,580 --> 00:44:41,900
time, these practises have been instilled in their

1028
00:44:41,900 --> 00:44:45,060
minds over the centuries, so it's going to

1029
00:44:45,060 --> 00:44:47,360
take at least a few years for us

1030
00:44:47,360 --> 00:44:49,980
to make them unlearn these things, and then

1031
00:44:49,980 --> 00:44:52,440
learn the new things, right, so it's a

1032
00:44:52,440 --> 00:44:53,020
process.

1033
00:44:53,500 --> 00:44:55,400
So are you going to be doing a

1034
00:44:55,400 --> 00:45:00,060
video, a short documentary on the robotic elephants?

1035
00:45:00,520 --> 00:45:00,860
Yes.

1036
00:45:01,880 --> 00:45:04,140
Because that, I think, would be a really

1037
00:45:04,140 --> 00:45:07,660
good way to, you know, popularise it, it

1038
00:45:07,660 --> 00:45:10,300
could be something that makes more money.

1039
00:45:10,840 --> 00:45:12,500
I hate to say it, but it always

1040
00:45:12,500 --> 00:45:15,560
comes down to follow the money, and if

1041
00:45:15,560 --> 00:45:18,940
you can make more money showing robotic elephants

1042
00:45:18,940 --> 00:45:22,300
than you can with that, with real elephants,

1043
00:45:22,400 --> 00:45:24,440
then people will jump on board with it,

1044
00:45:24,840 --> 00:45:26,980
and so maybe you can partner with some,

1045
00:45:27,920 --> 00:45:31,040
you know, India is so high-tech now,

1046
00:45:31,080 --> 00:45:33,940
there are tech billionaires who are Indian, who

1047
00:45:33,940 --> 00:45:36,600
might want to partner with you on a

1048
00:45:36,600 --> 00:45:39,200
for-profit basis for that aspect of it.

1049
00:45:39,340 --> 00:45:41,940
It reminds me of the circuses, you know,

1050
00:45:42,260 --> 00:45:46,300
when the circuses were attacked for using animals,

1051
00:45:46,320 --> 00:45:47,700
they said, well, you know, you're putting us

1052
00:45:47,700 --> 00:45:48,140
out of business.

1053
00:45:48,440 --> 00:45:51,240
No, what happened was Cirque du Soleil came

1054
00:45:51,240 --> 00:45:53,240
around, well, first of all, PETA and a

1055
00:45:53,240 --> 00:45:56,700
lot of incredible organisations protested for years, so

1056
00:45:56,700 --> 00:45:59,520
they attended many of those protests, but at

1057
00:45:59,520 --> 00:46:02,120
the same time Cirque du Soleil was showing

1058
00:46:02,120 --> 00:46:07,000
more spectacular performances with people who have a

1059
00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:08,340
right to say, yes, I want to do

1060
00:46:08,340 --> 00:46:09,760
this, or no, I don't want to do

1061
00:46:09,760 --> 00:46:13,100
this, and they were becoming more interesting than

1062
00:46:13,100 --> 00:46:17,500
the elephant and the animal-based circuses, so

1063
00:46:17,500 --> 00:46:21,060
the combination of the protests and the innovation

1064
00:46:21,060 --> 00:46:25,380
of Cirque du Soleil really put Ringling Brothers,

1065
00:46:25,460 --> 00:46:26,740
Barnum & Bailey out of business.

1066
00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:29,680
Now they claim they're coming back without animals,

1067
00:46:30,100 --> 00:46:33,960
but it's a very similar kind of situation

1068
00:46:33,960 --> 00:46:35,620
of what you're talking about with the elephants.

1069
00:46:36,340 --> 00:46:38,820
Absolutely, and you hit the nail right on

1070
00:46:38,820 --> 00:46:41,500
because I think that, you know, with India

1071
00:46:41,500 --> 00:46:47,500
launching all kinds of scientific mechanisms into, they've

1072
00:46:47,500 --> 00:46:50,880
entered the solar system, the lunar system, and

1073
00:46:50,880 --> 00:46:54,440
they've got all these robots everywhere, I'm sure

1074
00:46:54,440 --> 00:46:57,420
that they could take pride in, you know,

1075
00:46:57,420 --> 00:47:01,760
implementing technologies, and these robotic elephants are created

1076
00:47:01,760 --> 00:47:05,940
by Indian technologists and Indian artists, and this

1077
00:47:05,940 --> 00:47:07,880
EleSense device that I talked to you about,

1078
00:47:07,960 --> 00:47:12,560
it is actually developed by the local technical

1079
00:47:12,560 --> 00:47:16,300
people who understand the local terrain and who

1080
00:47:16,300 --> 00:47:20,340
are also conservationists, so it's a combination of,

1081
00:47:20,380 --> 00:47:22,660
we are actually partnering with a combination of

1082
00:47:22,660 --> 00:47:26,240
different kinds of people, conservationists, technologists, and like

1083
00:47:26,240 --> 00:47:28,360
you said, if, you know, we would love

1084
00:47:28,360 --> 00:47:32,320
for like a billionaire tech person to join

1085
00:47:32,320 --> 00:47:35,660
us and support our efforts, and even companies,

1086
00:47:36,160 --> 00:47:38,040
it takes time, this is the first time

1087
00:47:38,040 --> 00:47:40,600
we are launching, and so once we have

1088
00:47:40,600 --> 00:47:42,440
this thing and once we produce a short

1089
00:47:42,440 --> 00:47:45,460
film or film or whatever we choose to

1090
00:47:45,460 --> 00:47:48,840
do, it will get some mileage, I think,

1091
00:47:48,840 --> 00:47:51,220
and people will, you know, see this and

1092
00:47:51,220 --> 00:47:54,540
say, hey, not only is it that it's

1093
00:47:54,540 --> 00:47:56,460
not good, it's, I mean, that animals are

1094
00:47:56,460 --> 00:47:59,540
protected, but also it is safer for humans,

1095
00:47:59,620 --> 00:48:03,240
because when elephants are paraded in festivals, they

1096
00:48:03,240 --> 00:48:05,860
run amok, they're stampede, and so many hundreds

1097
00:48:05,860 --> 00:48:08,580
of people get killed every single year.

1098
00:48:09,540 --> 00:48:12,540
Wow, well, that's another thing, so we only

1099
00:48:12,540 --> 00:48:14,200
have a little bit of time, I have

1100
00:48:14,200 --> 00:48:16,840
a couple of questions, you said that you

1101
00:48:16,840 --> 00:48:19,220
got an award from the President of India,

1102
00:48:19,580 --> 00:48:21,620
so what I don't understand is how is

1103
00:48:21,620 --> 00:48:25,220
the President of India seeing, maybe it was

1104
00:48:25,220 --> 00:48:27,860
the previous President, I don't know, a President

1105
00:48:27,860 --> 00:48:31,180
of India, seeing this film, Gods and Shackles,

1106
00:48:31,260 --> 00:48:32,840
and being so moved by it that you

1107
00:48:32,840 --> 00:48:34,640
get an award, but at the same time,

1108
00:48:35,100 --> 00:48:39,220
they're not responding politically to the answer, the

1109
00:48:39,220 --> 00:48:42,600
solution, which is to crack down on these

1110
00:48:42,600 --> 00:48:44,640
temples abusing elephants.

1111
00:48:45,620 --> 00:48:50,600
Yeah, so it was a previous President, and

1112
00:48:50,600 --> 00:48:56,460
I hope to meet the new President, I

1113
00:48:56,460 --> 00:48:59,260
mean, I really don't have an answer for

1114
00:48:59,260 --> 00:49:01,600
that either, but that's a really good question,

1115
00:49:02,120 --> 00:49:06,060
and the sad reality is that because of

1116
00:49:06,060 --> 00:49:10,440
the tremendous increase in human population, they're more

1117
00:49:10,440 --> 00:49:15,940
focused on development, and actually reckless development, and

1118
00:49:15,940 --> 00:49:19,480
because humans are their vote banks, animals cannot

1119
00:49:19,480 --> 00:49:21,740
vote, at the end of the day, that

1120
00:49:21,740 --> 00:49:24,840
is what it boils down to, politics plays

1121
00:49:24,840 --> 00:49:28,640
a toxic role everywhere around the world, it's

1122
00:49:28,640 --> 00:49:32,780
really toxic, and it's spewing poison everywhere, and

1123
00:49:32,780 --> 00:49:36,860
you know, disinformation, misinformation, as we all know

1124
00:49:36,860 --> 00:49:39,760
is happening right now, and one of the

1125
00:49:39,760 --> 00:49:42,660
things is that some people, they want to

1126
00:49:42,660 --> 00:49:44,060
do the right thing, but they just don't

1127
00:49:44,060 --> 00:49:46,120
have the courage, they just don't have the

1128
00:49:46,120 --> 00:49:48,820
courage to do or say things, because they

1129
00:49:48,820 --> 00:49:51,960
don't want to offend others, or they don't

1130
00:49:51,960 --> 00:49:54,560
want to lose their position, you know, so

1131
00:49:54,560 --> 00:49:56,400
again, it's just a matter of...

1132
00:49:56,400 --> 00:49:58,900
You've gotten cyber bullied for standing up for

1133
00:49:58,900 --> 00:50:01,720
the elephants, but it didn't stop you, I

1134
00:50:01,720 --> 00:50:06,680
have a suggestion, get a Bollywood star to

1135
00:50:06,680 --> 00:50:10,080
partner with the mechanical bull, and do a

1136
00:50:10,080 --> 00:50:14,140
big media event unveiling the mechanical bull with

1137
00:50:14,140 --> 00:50:16,660
celebrity, we live in a celebrity culture, and

1138
00:50:16,660 --> 00:50:18,140
I don't care whether you're talking about India

1139
00:50:18,140 --> 00:50:21,920
or Hollywood, celebrities bring out the media, and

1140
00:50:21,920 --> 00:50:25,800
I think if you, unfortunately, I wish it

1141
00:50:25,800 --> 00:50:27,980
could be from the perspective of be nice

1142
00:50:27,980 --> 00:50:31,360
to animals, be kind to animals, but if

1143
00:50:31,360 --> 00:50:34,140
you do it from a technology perspective, and

1144
00:50:34,140 --> 00:50:36,660
you do it from a celebrity perspective, and

1145
00:50:36,660 --> 00:50:39,120
kind of bury that other message a little

1146
00:50:39,120 --> 00:50:44,140
bit, that really gets more mainstream coverage, do

1147
00:50:44,140 --> 00:50:46,760
you have any Bollywood celebrities that you can

1148
00:50:46,760 --> 00:50:47,440
reach out to?

1149
00:50:48,560 --> 00:50:53,120
I've tried, we keep trying, and there's one

1150
00:50:53,120 --> 00:50:57,880
Bollywood celebrity, Abraham, John Abraham, who is actually

1151
00:50:57,880 --> 00:51:02,680
an animal lover, he's actually a top-notch

1152
00:51:02,680 --> 00:51:07,580
Bollywood star, and I mean, he lives in

1153
00:51:07,580 --> 00:51:09,600
Mumbai, and the launch is taking place in

1154
00:51:09,600 --> 00:51:12,840
the Southern Indian region, and at the end

1155
00:51:12,840 --> 00:51:14,400
of the day, like whether he, you know,

1156
00:51:14,560 --> 00:51:16,620
he has the time, because he's got shoot

1157
00:51:16,620 --> 00:51:19,600
schedules, and all these things, right, so it's

1158
00:51:19,600 --> 00:51:22,220
one of those things where, you know, they

1159
00:51:22,220 --> 00:51:26,060
need to prioritise, they need to feel that

1160
00:51:26,060 --> 00:51:27,980
this is really important, and they need to

1161
00:51:27,980 --> 00:51:30,900
prioritise, it's not a lack of trying, but

1162
00:51:30,900 --> 00:51:33,140
at some point it'll work, we are just

1163
00:51:33,140 --> 00:51:35,480
waiting to sort of amp up our profile

1164
00:51:35,480 --> 00:51:38,020
a little bit more, so celebrities will come

1165
00:51:38,020 --> 00:51:40,640
and join us, and there are Bollywood celebrities

1166
00:51:40,640 --> 00:51:43,480
who are working with PETA India, so that's

1167
00:51:43,480 --> 00:51:45,640
really exciting, and I'm happy for that, and

1168
00:51:45,640 --> 00:51:48,680
I'm happy for them, so yeah, it'll take

1169
00:51:48,680 --> 00:51:51,320
some time, and we will make that happen,

1170
00:51:51,520 --> 00:51:53,840
even if we don't have them at this

1171
00:51:53,840 --> 00:51:56,380
time, maybe sometime in the future, because we're

1172
00:51:56,380 --> 00:51:58,800
not going to stop launching robotic elephants, you

1173
00:51:58,800 --> 00:52:00,400
know, so we're going to continue to do

1174
00:52:00,400 --> 00:52:02,260
that a little bit, a few at a

1175
00:52:02,260 --> 00:52:02,560
time.

1176
00:52:03,020 --> 00:52:04,700
Yeah, maybe you can partner with PETA on

1177
00:52:04,700 --> 00:52:06,240
this, I mean, it sounds like it's right

1178
00:52:06,240 --> 00:52:09,360
up their alley, I know they have a

1179
00:52:09,360 --> 00:52:12,640
robotic animal that they have at the animal

1180
00:52:12,640 --> 00:52:15,540
rights conferences, I think it's a cow, and

1181
00:52:15,540 --> 00:52:18,720
it's super, super fascinating, it's always a big

1182
00:52:18,720 --> 00:52:20,380
hit, it's one of the things that everybody

1183
00:52:21,300 --> 00:52:26,020
likes to see, and so I can't believe

1184
00:52:26,020 --> 00:52:28,560
all the things you are doing, and how

1185
00:52:28,560 --> 00:52:30,440
are you getting this done, in other words,

1186
00:52:30,920 --> 00:52:34,020
you have just listed so many projects, each

1187
00:52:34,020 --> 00:52:37,840
one would be enough for one organisation, how

1188
00:52:37,840 --> 00:52:39,220
do you get, how are you getting this

1189
00:52:39,220 --> 00:52:40,240
done, how are you funding it?

1190
00:52:42,320 --> 00:52:45,360
So, I have a really good team of

1191
00:52:45,360 --> 00:52:47,580
board of directors, and of course, all of

1192
00:52:47,580 --> 00:52:51,620
us are volunteers, and they, I have a

1193
00:52:51,620 --> 00:52:54,360
good grant writer, our secretary is amazing, we

1194
00:52:54,360 --> 00:52:58,520
have a few volunteers who are actually doing

1195
00:52:58,520 --> 00:53:01,520
some fundraising, but obviously, it's not nearly enough,

1196
00:53:01,660 --> 00:53:04,060
we are getting some funding just recently from,

1197
00:53:04,480 --> 00:53:06,700
you know, top foundations, but we would love

1198
00:53:06,700 --> 00:53:10,140
for people to start doing their own fundraisers,

1199
00:53:10,220 --> 00:53:12,320
like you can log on, you can, you

1200
00:53:12,320 --> 00:53:15,500
know, go to GoGiving, or whatever, like, I

1201
00:53:15,500 --> 00:53:18,800
don't know what it's called, GoFundMe, or, you

1202
00:53:18,800 --> 00:53:21,780
know, Global Giving, or whatever, you can launch

1203
00:53:21,780 --> 00:53:24,140
your own campaign under our, and you can

1204
00:53:24,140 --> 00:53:27,620
launch it under Facebook, you can do Facebook

1205
00:53:27,620 --> 00:53:31,140
fundraisers, and go to our organisation, and choose

1206
00:53:31,140 --> 00:53:34,200
our organisation to support us, so, yes, funding

1207
00:53:34,200 --> 00:53:37,000
is critically important, and it is something that

1208
00:53:37,000 --> 00:53:40,340
we struggle for, but given that we are

1209
00:53:40,340 --> 00:53:42,920
such, we are so focused on saving lives

1210
00:53:42,920 --> 00:53:45,460
at the moment, we just sometimes feel that

1211
00:53:45,460 --> 00:53:47,360
once we have all these results, more and

1212
00:53:47,360 --> 00:53:50,860
more foundations will start supporting us, and just

1213
00:53:50,860 --> 00:53:52,760
last year, like I said, you know, we

1214
00:53:52,760 --> 00:53:54,960
had only one foundation the previous year, but

1215
00:53:54,960 --> 00:53:57,500
last year, we had another foundation who came

1216
00:53:57,500 --> 00:53:59,820
on board, and we hope to continue to

1217
00:53:59,820 --> 00:54:02,540
follow that path, and show them, you know,

1218
00:54:02,620 --> 00:54:06,740
scientific results that actually will inspire them to

1219
00:54:06,740 --> 00:54:09,080
support our cause, and all of the people

1220
00:54:09,080 --> 00:54:11,460
that have joined here today, like, anything you

1221
00:54:11,460 --> 00:54:13,900
can do to support would be really appreciated.

1222
00:54:15,200 --> 00:54:17,880
Wow, well, I want to say you are

1223
00:54:17,880 --> 00:54:21,220
just such an inspiration, and, you know, you

1224
00:54:21,220 --> 00:54:24,480
told us the problem, but you haven't been

1225
00:54:24,480 --> 00:54:28,040
stuck in the problem, you are providing solutions,

1226
00:54:28,520 --> 00:54:31,200
and that's what I really love, because if

1227
00:54:31,200 --> 00:54:33,540
you just document the problem, people get depressed,

1228
00:54:33,600 --> 00:54:34,920
and they feel overwhelmed, and they are like,

1229
00:54:35,060 --> 00:54:36,900
wow, but you are saying, hey, we can

1230
00:54:36,900 --> 00:54:40,140
stop elephants in India getting hit by trains,

1231
00:54:40,460 --> 00:54:43,460
we can create wildlife corridors with just a

1232
00:54:43,460 --> 00:54:45,360
few acres, buying a few acres here and

1233
00:54:45,360 --> 00:54:49,340
there, that connect elephants from one wild area

1234
00:54:49,340 --> 00:54:53,020
to another, we can get robotic elephants, which

1235
00:54:53,020 --> 00:54:55,140
was breaking news that we broke here on

1236
00:54:55,140 --> 00:54:59,720
Unchained TV, to replace these tortured temple elephants,

1237
00:54:59,980 --> 00:55:03,460
we can do campaigns to stop people from

1238
00:55:03,460 --> 00:55:06,780
getting on elephants for rides when they are

1239
00:55:06,780 --> 00:55:10,500
tourists, and you have just so much, and

1240
00:55:10,500 --> 00:55:12,100
then there's all the videos you are doing,

1241
00:55:12,240 --> 00:55:15,500
so I urge everybody, please support this organisation,

1242
00:55:15,840 --> 00:55:18,440
one of the top organisations anywhere in the

1243
00:55:18,440 --> 00:55:22,140
world, and India is, again, one of the

1244
00:55:22,140 --> 00:55:25,420
most populous nations, and so it's so important,

1245
00:55:25,500 --> 00:55:27,040
it will have such an impact, so donate

1246
00:55:27,040 --> 00:55:32,500
at vfaes.org, that stands for Voices for

1247
00:55:32,500 --> 00:55:35,540
Asian Elephant Society, you can go there, you

1248
00:55:35,540 --> 00:55:37,560
can learn all about it, let's be part

1249
00:55:37,560 --> 00:55:40,020
of the solution, and thank you so much,

1250
00:55:40,200 --> 00:55:43,560
Sangeeta, for being on, we are huge fans,

1251
00:55:43,680 --> 00:55:46,420
and everybody is saying, get her to come

1252
00:55:46,420 --> 00:55:49,800
back soon, more segments, please, she's a mover

1253
00:55:49,800 --> 00:55:50,780
and shaker.

1254
00:55:51,740 --> 00:55:54,080
Well, thank you, I mean, you are a

1255
00:55:54,080 --> 00:55:56,280
great inspiration as well, I mean, we do

1256
00:55:56,280 --> 00:55:59,340
this collectively, you know, you have been a

1257
00:55:59,340 --> 00:56:02,700
tremendous voice for all of these animals, and

1258
00:56:02,700 --> 00:56:04,380
thank you so much for all that you

1259
00:56:04,380 --> 00:56:07,160
do, for the opportunities you provide, and we'll

1260
00:56:07,160 --> 00:56:09,140
continue to work together, I can't do this

1261
00:56:09,140 --> 00:56:11,040
alone, but thank you for your kind words,

1262
00:56:11,240 --> 00:56:11,560
thanks so much.

1263
00:56:11,560 --> 00:56:13,700
We will see you next time, Sangeeta,