Colombo: Referring to a viral video where an elephant is seen being beaten with sticks by a keeper at a Sri Lankan Buddhist temple, authorities have rejected the footage, saying it was being exaggerated by the media which had received false information from NGOs, it was reported.
The video shows the elephant, named Myan Prince, with its legs chained to trees, lying in a murky pool at the Bellanwila Temple here, the Daily Mirror said in the report on Friday.
One keeper is seen viciously beating the elephant’s leg with sticks, while another keeper appears to clean the animal’s leg and give it a scrub while the elephant tries to move his head and starts wailing.
The tusker then tries to grab onto one of the chains with his trunk.
“Anybody, who wishes to see how the elephant is treated, is welcomed to visit the temple,” a temple spokesman told the Daily Mirror.
“We would also like to call upon any doctor to examine and see whether there are any injuries on the jumbo. It is still a 13-year-old elephant. Even children are punished when they do notorious activities,” he said.
The spokesman further said that some NGO organizations had given information to foreign media sites exaggerating the events.
Maneesha Arachchige, an activist from Rally for Animal Rights and Environment, said she was concerned about Myan Prince as he appeared to be “beaten on a regular basis”.
