Elephant chained for 50yrs is finally free from his abusers
No need to cry anymore Raju! The elephant whose tears captured the hearts of millions is finally declared free from his former owners
Raju was held in chains for more than 50 years by abusive owners in India
The animal bled from spiked shackles and lived on hand-outs from tourists
Was freed from captivity earlier this year by a UK-based wildlife charity
Elephant was seen to be shedding tears of joy when he was released
However former owners had launched a legal bid to reclaim the animal
But an Indian court ruled he is to stay with conservationists Wildlife SOS
The moment that Raju was finally freed from his chains, wildlife experts said that tears rolled down his face as he began to cry
He was discovered have been held in chains which had left him bleeding from spiked shackles and was forced to beg for food from passing tourists
A 10-strong team of vets and wildlife experts were joined by 20 forestry department officers and six policemen to seize Raju from his suffering in July
A delighted Raju appears to smile after enjoying his first meal after being freed. The charity believes that the elephant had a total of 27 owners after being poached as a calf
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An elephant who was brought to tears after being held in chains and beaten for more than 50 years has finally been declared free from his former abusive owners.
Raju was left bleeding from spiked shackles and living on hand-outs from passing tourists after he was captured and tied up by his 'owner'.
The majestic animal had been forced to hold out his trunk and beg for coins from passers-by – surviving only on plastic and paper for food in the Uttar Pradesh area of India.
Raju celebrates by playing in the water at the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Centre in India after it was ruled he is finally free of his former abusive owners
[I]Raju's former owners had launched a legal battle in the Indian courts to reclaim him after insisting he was their 'rightful property' /I]
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This prompted a 10-strong team of vets and wildlife experts as well as 20 forestry department officers and six policemen to seize Raju from his suffering in July of this year.
But, after 50 years of torture, the animal cried tears of relief after he was rescued by a wildlife charity in a daring midnight operation – fittingly on American Independence Day.
However, last month the elephant's future was left hanging in the balance after his former owners launched a legal battle to reclaim him after insisting he was their 'rightful property'.
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'Elephants are majestic, intelligent animals, who are proven to grieve and feel emotion – so for an elephant to suffer for 50 years in chains, as Raju has, is truly barbaric.
'When his former owners launched a legal bid to get him back it was unthinkable that he could return to the life he'd had begging on the streets in shackles.
'We were determined to fight for him to ensure he could live out his days free from beatings and harm and we've had many a sleepless night worrying about what the future held for him.
'He had been so terribly brutalised for 50 years that we feared he'd be unable to live with his own kind. He didn't even know how to be an elephant. But now he's joined our herd of rescued Indian elephants it's like he's always been with them.'
In the court in India, Wildlife SOS lawyers argued an elephant cannot be owned by someone under Indian law as they are all owned by the Government.
They successfully argued that only a license issued from the Chief Wildlife Warden is proof of ownership.
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'By the time we found him in July 2013 he was in a pathetic condition. He had no shelter for him at night, and was being used as a prop to beg from dawn until dusk from tourists visiting the sites of India.
'He hadn't been fed properly and tourists started giving him sweet food items and because he was in a state of hunger and exhaustion he began eating plastic and paper.
'It took us 45 minutes to remove the shackles that had torn into the flesh on his legs for the past 50 years – and act of unthinkable cruelty. And it was when he was finally freed that tears gushed down his face. I'd never seen anything like it in my life.
'His legs were so covered in absesses and his feet so damaged by walking on hard tarmac roads, that we have spent £40,000 so far on his medical treatment, and we still have a long way to go as he has a serious limp and open wounds.
'Pain and brutality were all he knew. His cruel handler even tore out the hair from his tail to sell as good luck charms. The exploitation and abuse just had to stop.'
Now the charity has launched a Christmas campaign to save the last 67 performing circus elephants in India to join the charity's herd of hope.
How can some people be this cruel!! 
