Latest / UNCHAINEDTV'S Truth Files with Jane Velez-Mitchell / UnchainedTV: Help Save India's Elephants!
Transcript
- 0:00We have breaking news for you.
- 0:04Unfortunately, a temple elephant has died in India.
- 0:11A temple elephant just died yesterday.
- 0:15This is the story of brutality and torture.
- 0:20These innocent animals, torn from their families, their
- 0:25spirits broken, exploited for profit, under the guise
- 0:30of religion in India and elsewhere around the
- 0:34world.
- 0:35There's a movie, Gods in Shackles, a film
- 0:38by Sangeeta Iyer.
- 0:41She is on a one-woman crusade with
- 0:43a team of people in her organisation to
- 0:46save these Indian elephants.
- 0:48Let's start with the breaking news.
- 0:50Tell us about this elephant who died yesterday,
- 0:54Sangeeta, and why he or she is so
- 0:57emblematic of your battle to save India's elephants?
- 1:04Thank you, Jane.
- 1:06It's really wonderful to be with you here.
- 1:09Sadly, we are sharing the plight of these
- 1:12supremely intelligent animals over and over and over
- 1:16again.
- 1:17The elephant in particular who died yesterday was
- 1:20quite young.
- 1:21He's a bull elephant.
- 1:23There are only 4% bull elephants in
- 1:26India.
- 1:27They are being captured from the forest, torn
- 1:31from their families, tortured to submission, and exploited
- 1:34for profit in the name of culture and
- 1:35religion.
- 1:37This elephant died yesterday.
- 1:39I'm still awaiting details.
- 1:41Here's the thing.
- 1:42Last Tuesday, there was yet another elephant who
- 1:45had died.
- 1:46He was only 24 years of age.
- 1:48Almost on a weekly basis, we are seeing
- 1:51the decimation of these young bulls.
- 1:53The image that you're seeing of the previous
- 1:56elephant, he actually is Adiyato Ayyappan.
- 2:00He died in 2016.
- 2:03He died because of a wrong diet that
- 2:07was fed to him.
- 2:08They fed him dates that had seeds.
- 2:12These seeds got clogged up in his digestive
- 2:15system.
- 2:16He died of digestive disorder at a very
- 2:20tender age of about 30 to 35 years
- 2:23of age.
- 2:23This is the plight of Asian elephants who
- 2:27are being exploited for profit in the name
- 2:29of culture and religion.
- 2:31This in particular is happening in a notorious
- 2:35state called Kerala, which is in the southern
- 2:38part of India.
- 2:40They are displayed and paraded just so people
- 2:45can be happy.
- 2:47Look at the crowd that surrounds them and
- 2:50how people are going wild.
- 2:53Look at the brutality that they have to
- 2:55endure to make humans happy.
- 2:59It's just utterly gut-wrenching and heartbreaking.
- 3:02That's why my film, Gods in Shackles, was
- 3:04nominated in the United Nations General Assembly and
- 3:07won 13 International Film Festival Awards, the first
- 3:11time ever exposing the plight of these temple
- 3:15elephants.
- 3:16We'd like to say that Gods in Shackles
- 3:20is streaming on Unchained TV right now, so
- 3:24please download Unchained TV.
- 3:27We are the world's only vegan animal rights
- 3:29streaming network, and we're available on any cell
- 3:32phone for free.
- 3:34You can watch it on unchainedtv.com or
- 3:36on your TV.
- 3:38It's super important to see so you can
- 3:41understand the problem because before you get depressed,
- 3:46all is not lost.
- 3:48We have solutions, and I say we.
- 3:51I mean, Sangeeta has come up with incredible
- 3:54solutions to this horrific, horrific abuse of elephants
- 3:59in India for these ritualistic ceremonies and cultural
- 4:03ceremonies, and the solution is genius.
- 4:07The solution is robot elephants.
- 4:11Now, before you say, oh my gosh, that
- 4:13sounds crazy, I'm going to show you a
- 4:16video of the robot, and I was blown
- 4:21away.
- 4:22You cannot even tell that this is a
- 4:25robot elephant.
- 4:26Check this out.
- 4:27This is a short video narrated by Sangeeta
- 4:30Iyer.
- 4:31This is her new project.
- 4:33You can be a part of it.
- 4:34Obviously, it's going to require donations.
- 4:36Watch this, and we'll talk about it on
- 4:38the other side.
- 4:42Elephants from the train tracks, but let's just
- 4:49look at this majestic elephant.
- 4:52Doesn't he look real?
- 4:53Well, actually, he is a robotic elephant, and
- 4:58Voices for Asian Elephants has donated this beautiful,
- 5:03majestic elephant to a temple in the Gudalu
- 5:06district of Tamil Nadu, the first ever in
- 5:09the state, and this particular district actually borders
- 5:13Kerala, and the purpose of providing this robotic
- 5:18elephant is to replace live elephants and end
- 5:22elephant torture, but just look at his eye.
- 5:26It moves as though this is actually a
- 5:29real elephant.
- 5:30Look at the eyelashes.
- 5:32Look at the texture of his skin.
- 5:35This whole robotic elephant was designed by Prasant,
- 5:38who owns this organisation called HEARTS.
- 5:44This is just the very first robotic elephant
- 5:50that Voices for Asian Elephants has sponsored with
- 5:53the support of Ganesh Hariharan, and the mission
- 5:56is to promote humane treatment of elephants while
- 6:01at the same time preserve India's rich culture
- 6:05and heritage.
- 6:06The good news is that the media coverage
- 6:08has been phenomenal, and there are many temples
- 6:12who are now requesting us to sponsor such
- 6:14robotic elephants, and that gives us tremendous hope
- 6:18for the festival elephants.
- 6:23Absolutely incredible.
- 6:24You are a genius.
- 6:27Honestly, I thought, there's something wrong with this
- 6:30video.
- 6:30These are the real elephants, and then I
- 6:31was like, they're so good that you can't
- 6:35even tell that they are real, that they're
- 6:38not real.
- 6:39I want to just show, I did a
- 6:41little here, side by side.
- 6:43You've got the robotic elephants on one side.
- 6:46You've got the poor real elephants that are
- 6:48being tortured on the other side.
- 6:51Why on earth, dear God, would we do
- 6:54this torture if you've got this incredible alternative?
- 6:59I want to ask you more about that,
- 7:01but boy, the callers are lining up.
- 7:03Tiffany, your question or thought for Sangeeta Iyer,
- 7:07the maker of Gods and Shackles, streaming on
- 7:10Unchained TV.
- 7:12Thank you, Jane, for taking my call.
- 7:15Wow, they're beautiful, the mechanical.
- 7:18How can we help you get the word
- 7:20out?
- 7:21Is there like a Facebook post we can
- 7:24share, or how can we help you spread
- 7:27the word here in the United States?
- 7:29Yeah, absolutely.
- 7:30Yeah, we have a Facebook page for Voices
- 7:33for Asian Elephants.
- 7:34We have a website, vfaes.org.
- 7:37We are on Insta, we are on Twitter,
- 7:40and it's actually bustling.
- 7:43Our Facebook page is quite engaged, so is
- 7:46the Insta, and we are excited to partner
- 7:48with Unchained TV now that we can expose
- 7:53the atrocities.
- 7:54But at the same time, we are also
- 7:55providing solutions, which makes it imperative to share,
- 7:59so it's not all doom and gloom, because
- 8:01at the end of the day, without awareness
- 8:04and education, we cannot spread the word.
- 8:07So thank you for asking, Tiffany.
- 8:10Yeah, everybody's just blown away, as I was
- 8:13so blown away.
- 8:15Because when you said robot elephant, I was
- 8:17like, let's see how that's going to work.
- 8:19But I got to tell you, these robotic
- 8:22elephants are just, it's really hard to tell
- 8:25the difference.
- 8:26I mean, look at this detail.
- 8:29Look at this.
- 8:31It looks like, honestly, I was like, this
- 8:34is the elephant.
- 8:35Where's the robotic elephant?
- 8:36And then I realised, wait a second.
- 8:40Okay, so here are the real elephants being
- 8:42tortured.
- 8:43Look at all those people.
- 8:44Look at the anxiety that these animals who
- 8:47roam hundreds of miles in the wild must
- 8:50be experiencing.
- 8:51This is the life they lead chained up.
- 8:53I mean, that's a nice photo.
- 8:55I didn't even put some of the worst
- 8:56ones up.
- 8:57And yet, when you could have this instead,
- 9:00but these have got to be expensive.
- 9:03So let's, I want to take the callers,
- 9:05but we got to talk.
- 9:06You need a big donor.
- 9:08You need a big donor to come in
- 9:10and help you.
- 9:11So hopefully somebody who's got some moolah and
- 9:15who's ready to save elephants in India is
- 9:18watching and can save you.
- 9:19But every little bit counts.
- 9:21So go to vfaes.org, which stands for
- 9:26Voices for Asian Elephants Society, and donate.
- 9:30All right, we've got another caller, Michelle in
- 9:34Los Angeles.
- 9:35Your question or thought?
- 9:37Hi, I think these elephants are absolutely beautiful.
- 9:41And I was thinking, one of my best
- 9:43friends got married and had an Indian wedding,
- 9:45and they were supposed to have an elephant
- 9:47here in California.
- 9:49And they couldn't get the warrants for it.
- 9:52This is many years ago, and they had
- 9:54horses instead.
- 9:55But what are you doing about the communities
- 9:58here that are culturally in favour of doing
- 10:01this?
- 10:01Is that an issue as well?
- 10:04And maybe there's ways to like hook them
- 10:07up with the community, the religious communities here
- 10:10via India?
- 10:13I love that question.
- 10:14Yeah, absolutely.
- 10:16Go ahead.
- 10:16Go ahead and answer it.
- 10:18I have a thought too.
- 10:19Yeah, no, I just, I just wanted to
- 10:22say that the awareness of what the cruelty
- 10:25is, I don't think they know.
- 10:26Yeah, absolutely.
- 10:28And you know, you hit the nail right
- 10:30on because we have a large Indian community
- 10:32in the United States.
- 10:33And I have relatives living in the US
- 10:35as well.
- 10:37And this is exactly what we can do
- 10:39is, you know, creating robotic elephants and using
- 10:43them in weddings, you know, is a whole
- 10:46lot humane.
- 10:48And it's even, you know, it even protects
- 10:50people because you know, when you bring elephants,
- 10:53or even horses or any animal, aside from
- 10:55the brutality and suffering that they go through,
- 10:59if they lose it, it becomes a public
- 11:02safety threat, right?
- 11:04And so in that regard, it's a win
- 11:06-win situation for both people and animals.
- 11:09So yes, and awareness is critically important.
- 11:12So any Indian person, you know, just turn
- 11:16them towards our organisation, you know, and have
- 11:20them watch this documentary, Gods and Shackles.
- 11:22And it's important for the Indian community living
- 11:26in the United States, to be educated about
- 11:29the plight of these animals.
- 11:30It's not cultural, because there's not a single
- 11:33Hindu scripture, or biblical scripture, or, you know,
- 11:38Islamic scripture that says, you have to exploit
- 11:41elephants to make me happy.
- 11:42After all, elephants are God's own creations.
- 11:46And God doesn't want any of God's creations
- 11:48to be suffering the way these animals are.
- 11:52Besides, they are supremely intelligent, highly social animals,
- 11:56just like, you know, how if our children
- 11:58are separated from their families, what will they
- 12:01go through?
- 12:02What will we go through?
- 12:03You know, so this is what the herd
- 12:05suffer.
- 12:06And this knowledge has to be disseminated.
- 12:09And so yeah, anything you can do to
- 12:11support us, again, check out VFAES.org and
- 12:14let's talk.
- 12:16We've got yet another caller, Lindsay in Tarzana,
- 12:20your question or thought for Sangeeta Iyer, the
- 12:23filmmaker behind the award-winning Gods and Shackles,
- 12:27as well as the founder of Voices for
- 12:29Asian Elephants.
- 12:33Well, I just wanted to chime in with
- 12:36some of the other, of course, I think
- 12:37it's outstanding, fabulous.
- 12:41It makes my heart happy that this is
- 12:43a possibility.
- 12:45And I go to the practical side of
- 12:47it and think, well, perhaps if the individuals
- 12:51and the organisations that are keeping the elephants
- 12:54to use them for these activities could see
- 12:58that in the long run, the cost would
- 13:00be much less, possibly help them get funding,
- 13:04support in that way.
- 13:06Is there anything being done in that area?
- 13:09I just wondered.
- 13:10Thank you.
- 13:11Yeah, thank you.
- 13:12And that's, again, a great question because this
- 13:15is actually our first step and our first
- 13:18temple, but guess what?
- 13:19Yet another temple has approached us and this
- 13:23temple is quite popular.
- 13:26I can't tell you exactly where it is
- 13:28for security reasons, and they want to the
- 13:32live elephants that they used with robotic elephants.
- 13:36So it is going to take a long
- 13:37time because it takes time for attitudes and
- 13:41mindsets to shift because these memes have been
- 13:47planted in their minds for centuries.
- 13:50So it's going to take a long time
- 13:52for them to recognise.
- 13:54It's almost like unlearning and then relearning.
- 13:58And so one of the other things that
- 14:00we are doing is we are working directly
- 14:02with the forest departments and we are offering
- 14:05them all of the videos that I'm producing
- 14:07so they can educate their own staff and
- 14:10they can use the videos to educate the
- 14:12public and create awareness.
- 14:14It is going to take time, but we
- 14:16are going to be sponsoring our next robotic
- 14:19elephant in January, February of next year.
- 14:22So that is an exciting prospect and I'm
- 14:25really thrilled to share that.
- 14:27We hope that we're going to have more
- 14:29temples come along.
- 14:30We've got yet another caller.
- 14:32Kimberly Culver City, your question or thought for
- 14:34Sangeeta Iyer of Gods and Shackles now streaming
- 14:38on on Shane TV.
- 14:42Hi Sangeeta, hi Jane.
- 14:44Sangeeta, I met you some years back when
- 14:46you had an event in Los Angeles.
- 14:49Yes.
- 14:51Yes, it was a wonderful event and I
- 14:54have a few questions.
- 14:56First of all, thank you for what you
- 14:57do.
- 14:57It's just amazing and I loved your movie.
- 15:00I saw it when it first came out.
- 15:02It was amazing.
- 15:03It's sad, but very educational.
- 15:06Thank you.
- 15:07My questions are, pardon?
- 15:10I said thank you.
- 15:12Oh yeah, sure.
- 15:13My questions are when might you have a
- 15:16gala in LA again and how are the
- 15:20robot elephants going?
- 15:22Are people open to them?
- 15:24How many are there?
- 15:25Are more being made?
- 15:26And then is anybody educating these horrible elephant
- 15:31handlers that just beat them and treat them
- 15:34so badly?
- 15:34Is anyone going to them and saying please
- 15:37stop doing that?
- 15:38You don't need to do that or something.
- 15:40Anyway, thank you very much.
- 15:41Yeah.
- 15:42Yeah, thank you.
- 15:43And as I mentioned previously, yes, people are
- 15:45embracing this.
- 15:47I mean, that temple where we inaugurated this
- 15:50first robotic elephant was packed.
- 15:53And if you checked out our website and
- 15:55if you went under the media tab, you'll
- 15:59find innumerable news coverage.
- 16:02I mean, we just, even up until last
- 16:04month, we actually launched the robotic elephant on
- 16:07the 7th of February, or sorry, the 3rd
- 16:10of February this year.
- 16:12And the news is still bustling everywhere.
- 16:15And reporters are contacting me from India.
- 16:18Even like just last week, I had a
- 16:20call.
- 16:21So yes, they are accepting and they're embracing.
- 16:23And even the media madness is really going
- 16:26to help us.
- 16:27Secondly, to answer your question with regards to
- 16:30if others want to do this and how
- 16:33we are educating them, well, the best way
- 16:35to educate is by showing.
- 16:38And so we are demonstrating how this is
- 16:40working and also explaining to them that it's
- 16:44not only good for the people, but it's
- 16:47also good for the elephants and the culture
- 16:49still thrives.
- 16:50So we kind of incorporate everything that it's
- 16:53a win-win situation.
- 16:54Again, as I said earlier, it's going to
- 16:56take time for people to understand and embrace
- 16:58this.
- 16:59Then with regards to launching a programme in
- 17:02LA, well, if you want to launch an
- 17:04event, we are more than happy to come
- 17:06by and screen this film again.
- 17:10And we can definitely work with Jane and
- 17:12anybody who wants to collaborate with us.
- 17:15We cannot do this alone.
- 17:18So if you're interested, get in touch with
- 17:20us and we can create like a nice
- 17:23little community and volunteers to host events such
- 17:27as this and help educate and embrace compassion
- 17:30and condemn cruelty.
- 17:35So that's probably the way to go.
- 17:37What do you think, Jane?
- 17:38How much?
- 17:38I'm totally in favour of it.
- 17:41Absolutely.
- 17:43I many, many years ago, more than 30
- 17:46years ago, went with my mother to India
- 17:48and like an idiot, not knowing and not
- 17:50realising, oh, I love elephants.
- 17:52Let's take an elephant ride.
- 17:53And I've been doing a living amends ever
- 17:56since.
- 17:57So one of the things we also have
- 17:59to let people know is do not ride
- 18:01elephants.
- 18:02Do not use any animals in entertainment.
- 18:06And I try to think back and like,
- 18:11oh, I was so unconscious.
- 18:13It did not occur to me that these
- 18:15animals might be abused.
- 18:17The irony is it's precisely because people love
- 18:20elephants that they do all these things.
- 18:22And that's what we have to do.
- 18:24We have to unhook love of elephants from
- 18:28all these animals, love them from afar, leave
- 18:31them alone.
- 18:31They're not toys.
- 18:33And so my question to you is how
- 18:37much do each one of these elephants cost?
- 18:39And why can't we get the Indian government
- 18:42to get involved with purchasing these elephants?
- 18:45And then somebody else asks, which I think
- 18:47is a really good question, what happens to
- 18:51the retired elephants?
- 18:53Bruce Anderson says, also, are there protected sanctuaries
- 18:56that will receive the retired temple elephants?
- 19:00Yeah.
- 19:01So let me answer that question first, because
- 19:03I think it was Kim who asked, so
- 19:05what are you doing to train the mahouts
- 19:07so they don't become, you know, they give
- 19:10up brutality and embrace compassion.
- 19:12So that's another thing that we did.
- 19:15There is this government run elephant rehab centre.
- 19:19And with a team of people, including the
- 19:23Elephant Care Unchained, we went there and we
- 19:27did a rehab programme and trained them positive
- 19:31reinforcement and enrichment programmes, how you can use
- 19:36elephants without abusing and without exploiting them, then
- 19:39without using bullhook and all these brutal weapons.
- 19:43And in fact, we did this for like
- 19:46about a week.
- 19:47By the end of the week, one mahout,
- 19:50that is one handler, he was so comfortable
- 19:53with his bull elephant, bull animal that he
- 19:57completely just unchained this elephant and started walking
- 20:02this elephant without, you know, the chains and
- 20:05roaming within the sanctuary.
- 20:06I mean, that was just really, really breathtaking
- 20:08to witness.
- 20:10We've got all those images and videos and
- 20:12everything, and we should probably start sharing those
- 20:14images.
- 20:15With regards to the government, so here's the
- 20:19tragic situation.
- 20:22Just when we thought that, you know, the
- 20:25number of elephants are dwindling, captive elephants that
- 20:27is, are dwindling in Kerala, the Indian government
- 20:31has enacted a law that says the elephants
- 20:36that are in captivity, you know, this is
- 20:39all a very grey area at this point,
- 20:41the elephants who are in captivity can be
- 20:45used for cultural rituals and festivals.
- 20:49And that means elephants can be transferred from
- 20:52various states.
- 20:53So, and there's pushback from a lot of
- 20:56animal welfare organisations, but the law has been
- 20:59enacted.
- 21:00And I think the Supreme Court is looking
- 21:02into it.
- 21:04And the situation is that, you know, when
- 21:07there are, let me say, you know, billionaires
- 21:13doing things like that, it's hard to fight
- 21:15back because, you know, legal cases take up
- 21:20funding and energy, and you never know, and
- 21:23you may never win.
- 21:24And there's lots of corruption.
- 21:26This is not a secret.
- 21:28So there are a lot of hassles.
- 21:29It's not just as simple as, oh, these
- 21:31are the laws.
- 21:33And this is what you're doing.
- 21:35And so we are going to arrest you
- 21:37or punish you or penalise you.
- 21:39It just doesn't work that way.
- 21:41The nexus of culture, commerce, and politics is
- 21:44just so entangled that it's just really hard
- 21:47to, I mean, I've been working on the
- 21:50ground for 10 years, even to this day,
- 21:53I have a hard time understanding certain things.
- 21:56And just when I think, oh, that's what
- 21:58is happening, then I just peel another layer.
- 22:01I'm like, oh my God, you know?
- 22:03So it's not easy.
- 22:05You are looking at an image from the
- 22:07film, Gods and Shackles, an award-winning film
- 22:11produced and directed by our guest today, Sangeeta
- 22:14Iyer, who's also the founder of Voices for
- 22:17Asian Elephant Society.
- 22:20If you want to help, go to the
- 22:22website on your screen, vfaes.org, vfaes.org,
- 22:30and become a donor because these animals cannot
- 22:33speak for themselves and there are solutions.
- 22:38She has created robot elephants that the temples
- 22:43are embracing them and they could then get
- 22:48rid of torturing the real elephants and using
- 22:51them in these horrible ceremonies.
- 22:54Well, the ceremonies aren't horrible, but what happens
- 22:56to the elephants kept in chains?
- 22:58We can't even show you the worst of
- 23:00it and there's no need for it.
- 23:02The irony is that India worships elephants and
- 23:06therefore wants to use them, but the problem
- 23:08is that in order to use a wild
- 23:11animal who's used to running hundreds of miles,
- 23:14you have to have them chained and you
- 23:16have to break them and it's a horror
- 23:19show.
- 23:20So if you want to get involved, I
- 23:23want to know how much does each robotic
- 23:26elephant cost and can we start a GoFundMe
- 23:30for per elephant?
- 23:31I would certainly donate to that.
- 23:34Thank you.
- 23:34Yeah, it costs between 12,000 to 15
- 23:37,000 dollars.
- 23:38So it's not a lot of money to
- 23:40be honest with you.
- 23:41At the end of the day, it's like
- 23:42if all of us come together, we can
- 23:44easily raise that kind of money and I'm
- 23:46so proud to say that our second elephant
- 23:49has been a robotic elephant that has been
- 23:52entirely donated by Dolores Whitley who lives in
- 23:56New York.
- 23:56She's been supporting me since 2013 and she's
- 24:00been a loyal supporter so she's completely donated
- 24:03every penny for the second robotic elephant.
- 24:07The first one was donated but entirely again
- 24:09by Ganesh Hariharan who's of Indian origin but
- 24:13he lives in the United States and so
- 24:14this is how we start, you know, educating
- 24:17the Indian community by doing, you know, by
- 24:20offering solutions as Jane said and so there
- 24:23are issues but for every issue we come
- 24:26up with solutions.
- 24:27Technology is phenomenal, right?
- 24:29Robots, artificial intelligence, I mean this particular robot
- 24:33operates on artificial intelligence and similarly, yeah, similarly
- 24:38we have the EleSense device to save elephants
- 24:42from getting killed on the train tracks, the
- 24:44one that Jane, you know, your title showed.
- 24:47I just wanted to address that because the
- 24:48title came up.
- 24:50I want to talk about that.
- 24:51So let's talk a little bit, okay, so
- 24:54$12,000 per robotic elephant.
- 24:58We should definitely do an Indiegogo for a
- 25:03robotic elephant and I would, I'm certainly going
- 25:07to donate to that.
- 25:08Thank you.
- 25:09The solution, what I love is that you
- 25:11don't just show the problem, you also show
- 25:14the solution.
- 25:15So for those who are just joining Sangeeta
- 25:19and aside from coming up with these incredible
- 25:22solutions, we're going to talk about the solution
- 25:24to elephants being hit by trains in one
- 25:27second.
- 25:28She is also the producer of Gods and
- 25:30Shackles which is currently streaming on Unchained TV
- 25:33and all you have to do is go
- 25:35to download Unchained TV, put in Gods and
- 25:37Shackles in the search bar, boom, it comes
- 25:39right up.
- 25:40Here's the trailer.
- 26:11So you have to see that film.
- 26:14It is streaming on Unchained TV, which is
- 26:16very easy to watch and it's totally 100
- 26:20% free.
- 26:21All you do is download Unchained TV on
- 26:24your phone or on any television.
- 26:27It's on all Samsung TVs and on any
- 26:29TV with an Amazon Fire Stick, a Roku
- 26:32device or an Apple TV device.
- 26:34And you can also watch it online, go
- 26:36to unchainedtv.com and just poke around.
- 26:40Up to 2000 videos are there, including Gods
- 26:43and Shackles.
- 26:44So let's talk a little bit about your
- 26:46other project, which is trains.
- 26:49So saving elephants from deadly train track accidents.
- 26:54This is a horror show, but you have
- 26:56a solution.
- 26:57There's a high-tech solution.
- 26:58Tell us about it.
- 27:00Yes.
- 27:00And so in the last 10 years, approximately
- 27:04896 elephants have gotten hit and killed on
- 27:09India's deadly train tracks.
- 27:11And West Bengal is one of the most
- 27:13notorious states for this.
- 27:15And so we partnered with an indigenous group
- 27:19of people.
- 27:20And so that is yet another thing.
- 27:22We are empowering the community as well.
- 27:24And so they developed, because they understand the
- 27:27terrain, they understand the elephant movements, and they
- 27:32understand the weather patterns, et cetera.
- 27:35So they developed this artificial intelligence-based technology,
- 27:40which is actually, it's called EleSense.
- 27:43And EleSense is fed with four particular items.
- 27:48Number one is the pattern, that is how
- 27:51the elephant, the structure of the elephant, the
- 27:53body of the elephant, it detects the pattern,
- 27:56it detects the temperature.
- 27:58So there's this thermal sensor installed inside this
- 28:02EleSense device.
- 28:05And then there are two other things.
- 28:10I can't remember.
- 28:12Anyway, there are four sensors installed inside the
- 28:15EleSense.
- 28:16And so the minute this EleSense device detects
- 28:20or feels those four, the pattern, the thermal,
- 28:24and the movement patterns, and the height, absolutely,
- 28:27all of these things, it sends out a
- 28:30signal to our team, to the forest department,
- 28:33to the railway department.
- 28:35And as soon as the railway department receives
- 28:37it in their control centre, they use a
- 28:40walkie talkie to call the pilot, the train
- 28:42pilot, and say, slow down, there's a herd
- 28:45of elephants there, slow down.
- 28:47So he slows down, farther behind, and the
- 28:51elephants cross, and then there's no death.
- 28:54So in the last year alone, EleSense device
- 28:58has averted 627 elephant collisions with the train.
- 29:06And this year, so far, 62 elephant collisions
- 29:12have been averted.
- 29:13And it's only 62 this year, because it's
- 29:17not a cropping season yet.
- 29:19May is a cropping season.
- 29:20And then there's the paddy cropping season, which
- 29:22is like sometime in July, August.
- 29:25So those are the times when elephants cross
- 29:28over the train tracks, come into the villages
- 29:31for raiding the crop, because they love the
- 29:34taste of the crops.
- 29:35It's like an easy target.
- 29:37It's almost like, hey, here's the McDonald's.
- 29:39I'm just going to feed off of McDonald's.
- 29:41Why should I bother going home and cooking
- 29:43and taking the trouble to gather all this
- 29:46food?
- 29:46Let's not use that analogy.
- 29:48I don't think anybody should ever go to
- 29:50McDonald's.
- 29:51No, nobody should.
- 29:52No, you're right.
- 29:53I'm sorry.
- 29:54I didn't mean to do that.
- 29:55But I'm just saying that it's like junk
- 29:56food.
- 29:57It's junk food.
- 29:58That's what I was trying to say.
- 30:00So yeah, you're absolutely right.
- 30:03And as vegans, we shouldn't even be talking
- 30:06about it.
- 30:07But in any case, so yeah, that's how
- 30:10EleSense functions.
- 30:12And so that's how we have averted.
- 30:14We are seeing concrete results.
- 30:17I mean, there's nothing that makes us happier
- 30:20than seeing these tangible outcomes.
- 30:23And again, we could not have done this
- 30:25without the support of donors.
- 30:27And we are completely reliant on donors to
- 30:31get these kind of projects done, right?
- 30:36Because collectively, we are all heartbroken to see
- 30:40these elephants suffering, but we cannot do this
- 30:42without the funding, right?
- 30:44And so that's one of the things that
- 30:46I'm really, really proud of is to see
- 30:49these results and continue to move forward.
- 30:52And the thing with this is that with
- 30:55saving these wild elephants is that there are
- 30:57approximately 40,000 Asian elephants on the entire
- 31:00planet.
- 31:0160% of them, that is about between
- 31:0425,000 and 26,000 Asian elephants are
- 31:08in India.
- 31:10It is their last bastion.
- 31:12So we need to do everything we can
- 31:14to save them in India.
- 31:15So we've covered so much ground.
- 31:17We've covered your development of robot temple elephants
- 31:23so that these real elephants are not put
- 31:26in these horrible, torturous situations where they're abused,
- 31:30they're shackled, they're beaten.
- 31:32And just to recap and review, it's $12
- 31:35,000 per robot elephant, which is really not
- 31:40a lot.
- 31:41And then the second thing we have that
- 31:43you've come up with, solutionary, which is what
- 31:46I love, not just talking about the problems,
- 31:48but talking about the solutions, you've got this
- 31:51system.
- 31:53How much does it cost per system to
- 31:57stop these dead?
- 31:59In other words, if somebody was saying, okay,
- 32:02I want to buy one of these systems
- 32:03for voices for Asian Elephant Society to put
- 32:07out there, how much does one of this
- 32:08train accident prevention systems cost?
- 32:13So it doesn't work on one particular system
- 32:16per se, right?
- 32:17So we take a stretch of the train
- 32:19track, like eight kilometres stretch, and we installed
- 32:2340 devices.
- 32:24And for those 40 devices, it cost us
- 32:2660,000.
- 32:27So you can do the math, right?
- 32:29For 40 devices, it costs $60,000.
- 32:34And that includes, of course, developing, designing, installing,
- 32:39monitoring.
- 32:40We also have some amazing camera trap footage
- 32:43that shows how the elephants are crossing safely.
- 32:47And so we keep track of them every
- 32:50two months.
- 32:51We get a report on how many elephants
- 32:54have crossed and which area they have crossed
- 32:57in.
- 32:58And we keep track of their passage, their
- 33:01movements, just to make sure that they are
- 33:03safe.
- 33:04So you can divide $60,000 by 40
- 33:07devices.
- 33:08I don't know how much that works out
- 33:10to.
- 33:12$1,500 each.
- 33:14Yeah.
- 33:15So that's another thing because, you know, having
- 33:18emceed so many events where people are raising
- 33:21money, they want to see, it's like nuggets,
- 33:24you know, little bits of change, as opposed
- 33:26to just give me money generally, and I'll
- 33:29do what I want with it.
- 33:30You are showing really specific things that are
- 33:33doable that are let's get this done.
- 33:36And I think that it's, I was extremely
- 33:40impressed by it.
- 33:41And I'm not suggesting this for everyone, but
- 33:44I do play the lottery because if I
- 33:46win, Sangeetha's getting the money, baby.
- 33:49Yeah, I love that.
- 33:51Hey, and it's E-L-E-S-E
- 33:55-N-S-E.
- 33:56It's not Alison.
- 33:57It's ElySense.
- 33:58ElySense.
- 33:59I love it.
- 34:00All right.
- 34:00We got another caller, Paige from Los Angeles
- 34:03on hold.
- 34:04Your question or thought for Sangeetha Iyer.
- 34:08Hello, Sangeetha.
- 34:10It's great to connect with you here.
- 34:12Hey, Paige.
- 34:13Oh my goodness.
- 34:14You have been tirelessly working for the freedom
- 34:19of elephants.
- 34:20And here's what I want to ask you.
- 34:21What do you do for self-care?
- 34:24That's number one.
- 34:25But number two is for those of us
- 34:27that are activists out here, what is your
- 34:29secret sauce for the sustainability of your activism?
- 34:34Thank you.
- 34:35Wow.
- 34:36I love that question, Paige, because in September,
- 34:39I'm going to be launching a programme to
- 34:42help activists sustain themselves.
- 34:45So the secret for me is connecting with
- 34:47Mother Nature every single day.
- 34:49I drink three litres of water.
- 34:51I am a vegan and I eat only
- 34:54wholesome food.
- 34:56You are marvellous, darling.
- 35:01And I spend about an hour or an
- 35:05hour and a half in the natural world
- 35:07to kind of de-stress or decompress.
- 35:12Because as you said, Paige, you're absolutely correct.
- 35:16Day in and day out, all you do
- 35:19is you see the atrocities against animals.
- 35:22And of course, I'm active on social media,
- 35:24on Twitter, on Instagram.
- 35:26I call out people.
- 35:28I say things like, you know, you know,
- 35:30I mean, not rude things, but I'm quite
- 35:33blunt on social media as to like why
- 35:35we are doing this.
- 35:36I call out scientists.
- 35:38I call out the United Nations and tell
- 35:40them you guys have to do more.
- 35:42Otherwise, we're going to need like new international
- 35:44bodies so each of us can speak out
- 35:47and do something.
- 35:48And so, Paige, stay tuned for that programme
- 35:52that I'm going to be launching in September
- 35:55to empower activists and in particular, you know,
- 35:59visionary women to ensure that when they see
- 36:02these atrocities and brutalities, that they are not
- 36:06alone.
- 36:07I'm creating a community and just send me
- 36:10a friend request and I'll include you in
- 36:13that community.
- 36:14And this is how we're going to support
- 36:16each other.
- 36:17And I have come up with like a
- 36:1912 pillar programme again, which I'll be unpacking
- 36:22and we're going to be unrolling that in
- 36:26September.
- 36:26So stay tuned for that, Paige.
- 36:29So you are a dynamo and now you're
- 36:32doing something on self-care or whatever.
- 36:34Wow.
- 36:36Here's the thing.
- 36:37What I really love about your programme is
- 36:39you outline the problem and it's terrible.
- 36:41And we're running out of time because these
- 36:44poor animals are being decimated across India.
- 36:47I mean, look how many are using this
- 36:49one ceremony.
- 36:50It's disgusting.
- 36:52But you're coming up with solutions.
- 36:54So your solution of the robot elephants is
- 36:58absolutely extraordinary.
- 37:00And then you also have a solution to
- 37:02elephants being hit by trains.
- 37:04Again, the robot elephants cost $12,000 each,
- 37:08each one.
- 37:10How many do you need?
- 37:11Just give me a number real quick.
- 37:13So, I mean, we are waiting for more
- 37:15temples to get in touch with us, but
- 37:17ideally every year we want to start giving
- 37:20like two or three at a minimum.
- 37:22And then because it takes time for the
- 37:26temples to acknowledge and the religious institutions, because
- 37:29they use the live elephants in churches and
- 37:32mosques as well.
- 37:34And so we don't want to push them
- 37:36because then we'll receive a pushback.
- 37:39And so we are saying, okay, you guys
- 37:40observe, you guys tell us.
- 37:43And of course we are doing our outreach
- 37:45programme, talking to schools, going to universities.
- 37:47I just received an invitation from a very
- 37:50renowned college in Kerala to come and share
- 37:53this film and speak there, et cetera.
- 37:56So we keep doing these kinds of outreach
- 37:59programmes.
- 38:00The one thing I wanted to also mention
- 38:01is that the third most sustainable solution that
- 38:05we're implementing is we are purchasing swaths of
- 38:08land and we are completely rewilding the land.
- 38:13So what we did last year in June
- 38:15of 2023 is we purchased a four acre
- 38:19corridor.
- 38:20And some people may think, ah, it's just
- 38:21four acres, but here's the thing.
- 38:24On the one side, you have the vast
- 38:26forest region.
- 38:28On the other side, you have another vast
- 38:30forest region, but in between you have these
- 38:32plantations because the Kerala government at once upon
- 38:36a time, they decided, oh, we're going to
- 38:38sell the forest land.
- 38:40And now they're realising that, uh-oh, what
- 38:42did we do?
- 38:43And now they're buying back that land.
- 38:46And so they approached us and we said,
- 38:48okay, well, let us help you.
- 38:49And so again, with the support of donors,
- 38:52we were able to purchase a four acre
- 38:54plot of land and this four acre plot
- 38:57has completely opened up.
- 38:59I went and I checked it just this
- 39:01February, on the 7th of February, that's where
- 39:03I was.
- 39:05And they have cleared up the plantations, they
- 39:08have removed all of the electrical fencing.
- 39:09So what this does is it allows 340
- 39:14plus elephants from this forest patch to walk
- 39:18freely towards the next forest patch.
- 39:21And this is so critically important because if
- 39:24the elephants stay in one area, they'll be
- 39:27inbreeding, they'll start inbreeding.
- 39:29And that will create genetic disorders and threaten
- 39:33the long-term species survival.
- 39:37And so this movement, so, I mean, we
- 39:39can't undermine every single acre of land, right?
- 39:43So we purchased four acres, but this year
- 39:45our goal is to purchase 10 or 12
- 39:48acres of land in Odisha, where we have
- 39:51planted 20,000 saplings and we have created
- 39:55eight water holes, massive water holes, and elephants
- 39:59are visiting the water holes.
- 40:01We just got some images recently with elephants
- 40:04visiting their footprints, their dung and everything.
- 40:07Is it this?
- 40:09Yes, it is.
- 40:11Wow.
- 40:11Okay.
- 40:12So I got this off your website and
- 40:14I was like, look how tiny the people
- 40:16are compared on the right, right?
- 40:18Yeah.
- 40:18And I was like, what exactly is this?
- 40:21So this is a watering hole for elephants.
- 40:24And what you're doing is constructing these around,
- 40:28in the land that you've purchased or where?
- 40:31So this is on the outskirts of the
- 40:33forest, like in between the forest and the
- 40:36villages.
- 40:36Cause what they do is they leave the
- 40:39forest and they come into the villages and
- 40:41because they don't have water, they don't get
- 40:44food.
- 40:44So we are planting saplings right next to
- 40:46the water holes in the forest land because
- 40:49these forest areas have been encroached upon by
- 40:52humans.
- 40:53So we are offering job opportunities to the
- 40:56same tribal people who live in those areas
- 41:00and say, okay, you plant the saplings, you
- 41:03help us create water holes.
- 41:04We will pay you money if you can
- 41:06help us protect the elephants.
- 41:08And so that's one thing.
- 41:10I'm another thing that I'm so excited about
- 41:12expanding.
- 41:13It cost us $60,000 for the four
- 41:17acre plot of land in Kerala.
- 41:19Cause Kerala in Kerala land is like a
- 41:22precious commodity in Odisha to in India, overall
- 41:25land is a precious commodity, but for about
- 41:2810 acres of land, it's going to cost
- 41:30us approximately $110,000.
- 41:34And we are going to be launching a
- 41:36campaign.
- 41:36We are reaching out to foundations, et cetera,
- 41:39so they can support us.
- 41:41Wow.
- 41:42I am so blown away at everything you're
- 41:46creating.
- 41:47And there's one more, you're creating a system
- 41:51to prevent elephants from falling into wells, because
- 41:56that is yet another problem in India.
- 41:58They have hundreds of wells that are in
- 42:00the ground and they're like booby traps for
- 42:03these poor elephants.
- 42:06Tell us about that.
- 42:07So in Odisha in particular, approximately 70 elephants
- 42:13have died falling into wells.
- 42:15And so we partnered again with local people
- 42:18and we had them instal T-shaped barriers
- 42:21around key wells.
- 42:24We installed about 100 or we covered about
- 42:27100 wells and there has been absolutely no
- 42:30elephant debts.
- 42:31And guess what?
- 42:32After we did that, I actually lobbied and
- 42:36I spoke with the state government.
- 42:38And this year I am so happy to
- 42:41report that because of our advocacy, in the
- 42:44month of March, I got a message saying
- 42:46that all of the 1300 wells in Odisha
- 42:50have been covered.
- 42:52Yeah.
- 42:54I'm so excited about that.
- 42:55So we don't have to do that in
- 42:57Odisha, but we may have to do it
- 42:58in other states.
- 43:00But again, it takes a lot of diplomacy,
- 43:04talking to them, meeting them, letting them know
- 43:07we are genuine, that we are interested to
- 43:10support you.
- 43:11We are not condemning and criticising you, but
- 43:13of course you need to know these problems,
- 43:16but we are here to partner with you.
- 43:17We are here to help you.
- 43:19And so that's how we are making a
- 43:23difference in the lives of elephants.
- 43:24And just recently, about three weeks ago, another
- 43:28elephant had fallen into a well in Odisha,
- 43:30a well that they had never known about.
- 43:32So again, I immediately sent that message to
- 43:35the chief wildlife warden.
- 43:36He said, we are going to cover it
- 43:37this month.
- 43:38So they have covered it in the month
- 43:40of April.
- 43:41So every time I get a message, I
- 43:43continue to bug them.
- 43:45Kim Delgado said it.
- 43:47Wow.
- 43:47You are one busy lady, Sangeeta.
- 43:50The elephants are so lucky to have you
- 43:52on their side.
- 43:53They really are.
- 43:55And I just have to say, because I
- 43:56interview so many different organisations, their leaders about
- 44:01what they're doing.
- 44:02What I really, really like is that this
- 44:03is so solutionary.
- 44:05Yes, you have shown us the horrific problems,
- 44:07but you've come up with some ingenious solutions.
- 44:11And I'm just going to recap and review.
- 44:13We're talking about robotic elephants, instead of using
- 44:17real elephants in these horrific ceremonies.
- 44:20We're talking about a high-tech train system
- 44:23where the elephants are detected by the approaching
- 44:26train, and they send a signal to the
- 44:29train driver, slow down.
- 44:31This has saved hundreds of lives already.
- 44:34And then you have the watering holes, which
- 44:38these elephants need water.
- 44:41Then you have the very practical creating these
- 44:45barriers around the well so that the elephants
- 44:48don't fall into the wells.
- 44:49And then finally, you have the purchase of
- 44:51land to connect wildlife spaces.
- 44:54There are corridors that allow these elephants to
- 44:58mingle and cross over so they don't inbreed.
- 45:02Okay.
- 45:03So you're talking approximately half a dozen brilliant
- 45:06solutions.
- 45:08Wow.
- 45:09I just hope, I pray that people are
- 45:12listening and that everybody goes to vfaes.org
- 45:21and donates because somebody already said they donated
- 45:25$100, $50, $25, with a large sum of
- 45:30just individual donations and monthly donations.
- 45:34We have monthly donors here at Unchained TV,
- 45:37and they're even $5 a month, $10 a
- 45:40month.
- 45:40It helps.
- 45:41It adds up.
- 45:42So get on there.
- 45:43Do you have a monthly donation option?
- 45:45Absolutely.
- 45:46Yes.
- 45:46Yes, we do.
- 45:47I'm going to become a monthly donor right
- 45:49now, as soon as this is over.
- 45:50Thank you.
- 45:51Thank you so much.
- 45:53If everybody watching this became a monthly donor
- 45:56for $15 a month, that's three cups of
- 45:59coffee.
- 45:59Depending on where you are, it could be
- 46:00two cups or one cup of coffee.
- 46:03We could already buy one elephant.
- 46:05So please do that.
- 46:07It's vfaes.org.
- 46:11Donate.
- 46:12I'm going to do it as soon as
- 46:13this is over because I'm excited.
- 46:15I want solutions.
- 46:16I get depressed when I hear about these
- 46:19problems, when I see these images, but then
- 46:21when I go, wait, we can fix this.
- 46:24Exactly.
- 46:25So empowering.
- 46:27And I just love the example you're offering
- 46:29all of them.
- 46:30And Tom says, put her on the team.
- 46:33Yeah, you're right.
- 46:35And yes.
- 46:37And Rowan Chandler says, you're a wonderful human
- 46:40being.
- 46:41I hope you publish another book.
- 46:42Yes.
- 46:43On top of that, she's written books.
- 46:45My head is exploding.
- 46:47Okay.
- 46:49And this is another good one we just
- 46:53heard from Navia who donated $100.
- 46:57She said, I can spare a cup of
- 46:58coffee for such a good cause.
- 47:00Yes.
- 47:01Thank you.
- 47:02That touches me.
- 47:03Yeah.
- 47:03A couple of cups of coffee.
- 47:04That's what I tell people that donate to
- 47:06Unshamed TV.
- 47:07But the same thing applies to you.
- 47:09For a couple of cups of coffee, you
- 47:12can be saving elephants.
- 47:14And it's just so crucial because we are
- 47:19destroying wildlife all over the world.
- 47:23We've reduced wildlife biomass, mammal biomass to 4
- 47:29% of total mammal biomass while increasing livestock
- 47:33to 62%, which means that most living beings
- 47:37on this planet are being created forcibly.
- 47:40They're not making love on these factory farms,
- 47:42forcibly impregnated and created only to be killed.
- 47:46There's something really wrong with that.
- 47:48We can turn it around by fostering wildlife,
- 47:51rewilding.
- 47:52And Sangeeta, you're also fighting climate change as
- 47:56you rewild.
- 47:57So that's another really important thing that you're
- 47:59doing.
- 48:00You're operating on all fronts.
- 48:02All you need is some cold hard cash
- 48:04to make this happen.
- 48:05And we're going to get it for you.
- 48:08I want to really be involved in this.
- 48:10Let me just tell you a little bit
- 48:12about- Sorry, that website address is wrong.
- 48:17It is VFAES, V-A-E-S, F
- 48:21as in Frank.
- 48:22Kim was going to get a thousand lashings
- 48:25with a wet noodle, a wet ramen noodle.
- 48:28Here it is.
- 48:29She's one of our great volunteers though.
- 48:33VFAES.org, V-A-E-S.org.
- 48:38All right.
- 48:39So you're talking about your efforts.
- 48:43I want to take a moment because she
- 48:46has an entire channel on Unchained TV.
- 48:48And some people even say to me this
- 48:50day, what exactly is Unchained TV?
- 48:54So here's a little video that has the
- 48:57answer.
- 48:57So it's a vegan Netflix.
- 48:59Okay.
- 48:59That's the craziest thing I've ever heard.
- 49:01I love Unchained TV.
- 49:03Unchained.
- 49:03Unchained TV.
- 49:04Your life will change.
- 49:05It's just that easy.
- 49:07Unchained TV has all sorts of content for
- 49:09everybody.
- 49:10Unchained TV changed my life.
- 49:12Unchained TV is crushing it.
- 49:15I love Unchained TV.
- 49:17Unchained TV is my go-to.
- 49:19Unchained TV.
- 49:21Who knew?
- 49:22Unchained, baby.
- 49:23Yes.
- 49:30And you can download Unchained TV.
- 49:32It's so easy.
- 49:33It's free.
- 49:34We're the world's only vegan streaming network.
- 49:36You can download it on your phone.
- 49:37Just go to your app store and put
- 49:38in Unchained TV, one word.
- 49:40Or you can download it on your television.
- 49:42It's on all Samsung televisions.
- 49:45There's my Samsung TV right behind me.
- 49:48And there are just some of the more
- 49:51than 1,500, actually, we're up to almost
- 49:532,000 videos.
- 49:55And amongst those videos is Sangeeta's The Elephant
- 50:02Matrix.
- 50:03So there's just so much fun stuff, serious
- 50:07documentaries, fun stuff.
- 50:10We even have a reality show called Pig
- 50:12Little Lies, the world's first reality show starring
- 50:16a family of pigs.
- 50:17How sweet.
- 50:18Whatever you're interested in, watch.
- 50:22It's free.
- 50:24People sometimes say, what's your angle?
- 50:25My angle is I worked for 30 plus
- 50:29years in mainstream television, and they don't cover.
- 50:33They don't cover what's happening to animals.
- 50:35So I said, I'm going to use my
- 50:37skills.
- 50:38I worked at a lot of networks.
- 50:39I'm going to create my own network.
- 50:40It's not mine.
- 50:41It's a nonprofit.
- 50:42I don't take a salary.
- 50:44We're almost all volunteer run.
- 50:46We are simply trying to get the word
- 50:48out because you know what?
- 50:50No amount of money is going to be
- 50:53as good as saving our planet.
- 50:54If we can't even walk across the street
- 50:57without fading because of climate change, if there's
- 50:59no wildlife left except in zoos, what's the
- 51:04use of money?
- 51:06Your thoughts on that, Sangeeta?
- 51:08Yeah, no, you're absolutely correct.
- 51:10And you were talking about climate change.
- 51:12Elephants are climate mitigators.
- 51:14They wander across vast areas for hours on
- 51:17end, disperse seeds in their dung.
- 51:20Each elephant poops about 300 pounds of dung
- 51:25per day.
- 51:26And in that dung, it has all this
- 51:28precious, rich seeds that are wholesome because elephants
- 51:32don't digest all of the food that they
- 51:34consume.
- 51:35And so they wander across 16 to 18
- 51:37hours a day for miles on end and
- 51:41they disperse seeds in their dung.
- 51:43These seeds become trees, obviously, and trees give
- 51:46us oxygen to breathe and take up the
- 51:48carbon.
- 51:49But here's the rub.
- 51:50Elephants also trample the softwood trees, opening up
- 51:54the pathways.
- 51:55And then they also pull down these canopies,
- 51:59allowing the rain and sunshine to penetrate the
- 52:01soil.
- 52:02And the hardwood trees, they devour these rich
- 52:08ingredients and the hardwood trees, they sequester a
- 52:12lot more carbon than the softwood trees.
- 52:14That's how they help sequester carbon and mitigate
- 52:18climate change.
- 52:19And you know, if you want to talk
- 52:21money, the International Monetary Authority Monetary Fund has
- 52:27pegged one single forest elephant at approximately $75
- 52:35million per elephant in its lifetime.
- 52:38We are priceless.
- 52:39Let me just jump in.
- 52:40We got a really quick caller here.
- 52:42We've got like only two minutes left in
- 52:43our show.
- 52:44Annie in Sherman Oaks, your question or thought
- 52:46for Sangeeta.
- 52:52Annie?
- 52:52All right.
- 52:53Well, maybe she went away.
- 52:54I'm here.
- 52:55I'm here.
- 52:56Hello.
- 52:56Can you hear me?
- 52:57Yes.
- 52:57What's your question or thought?
- 52:58We only have a couple of minutes left.
- 53:01Awesome.
- 53:01Awesome.
- 53:02Thank you so much for having me.
- 53:04It's awesome what you're doing with the elephant.
- 53:06Sangeeta, it's incredible.
- 53:08From last time I saw you to this
- 53:09time, I love it.
- 53:10And I always share everything about you and
- 53:13your dogs and shackles and all.
- 53:16Is there anything that we can do to
- 53:19approach maybe the government or some organisations that
- 53:27can actually help, aside from sharing here, like
- 53:31in India?
- 53:33OK, good question.
- 53:35We have one minute.
- 53:36What's your answer?
- 53:37Indian organisations.
- 53:39Yeah, there are a lot of Indian organisations
- 53:41working on situations like this.
- 53:45Unfortunately, when it comes to culture, there's a
- 53:47backlash always.
- 53:49And these elephant mafias, they use culture and
- 53:52they shield behind the culture and they find
- 53:54shelter under culture and religion.
- 53:58And they say, this is part of our
- 53:59culture.
- 54:00This is part of our culture.
- 54:01And they plan these memes in the minds
- 54:04of people.
- 54:05And then there's this whole entire mob that
- 54:09comes and attacks you when you talk.
- 54:11So it's a difficult situation.
- 54:13This is why we are taking a backdoor
- 54:15approach rather than going and attacking them from
- 54:18the front or approaching or lobbying or petitioning.
- 54:21It just doesn't work.
- 54:22India has 1.41 billion people.
- 54:27It's like the most densely populated country on
- 54:30the planet, 18% of the world's population.
- 54:33So we have to be careful in how
- 54:35we deal with the situation there.
- 54:37We are out of time, but I want
- 54:39to say, Sajita, you give me hope.
- 54:43As Nelson Mandela said, it always seems impossible
- 54:46until it's done.
- 54:48You've documented the problem with an award-winning
- 54:50documentary that is streaming on Shane TV.
- 54:53I urge everybody to check it out.
- 54:56And then you've also laid out the solution,
- 55:00practical, a half a dozen, practical, affordable, efficient,
- 55:05easy to implement solutions.
- 55:08All you need is that funding.
- 55:10So that's why I say to everybody, if
- 55:12you care, become a monthly donor.
- 55:14I'm going to do it right now.
- 55:15As soon as we're off, $25 a month,
- 55:18we get 100 people doing $25 a month.
- 55:21You won't even notice it's gone.
- 55:22And we will save an elephant and then
- 55:25we'll have a big party.
- 55:26Yeah, absolutely.
- 55:27I look forward to it.
- 55:28And thank you, my God, you're my kindred
- 55:30spirit and the work you do is phenomenal.
- 55:34So kudos to you.
- 55:35Thank you for the opportunity.
- 55:36And let's continue this conversation.
- 55:38Maybe we could launch an elephant or something,
- 55:40you know?
- 55:42I love it.
- 55:43Let's do an elephant.
- 55:44All right.
- 55:45We're out of time.
- 55:46All right.
- 55:46Have a good one.