What people initially see: an Instagram video of an elephant performing tricks. What too often goes unseen is the ugly truth behind the cruel industry of elephant exploitation for tourism in Thailand.

Contrary to what their exploiters would have us believe, elephants are not domesticated animals and a very small number of them has been “rescued”.

Once captured, they are broken into submission through a horrific process called phajaan. Still-nursing baby elephants are taken from their mothers, immobilized, beaten, and gouged with sharp objects for days at a time. They eventually surrender into submission to a lifetime of exploitation, abuse and deprivation, with more than 3/4 of elephants living in severely cruel conditions.

Sign this petition to urge Prayut Chan-o-cha and the Tourism Authority of Thailand to put a stop to elephant exploitation.