数十头被迫为游客表演的大象被从锁链中解放出来

数十头被迫为游客表演的大象被从锁链中解放出来

Dozens of captive elephants in Thailand are finally free to roam.

泰国数十头被圈养的大象终于可以自由漫步了。

The Maesa Elephant Camp in Chiang Mai has decided to unshackle the pachyderms at its park. Animal rights activists accused camp owners of inflicting “psychological anguish” on the elephants by forcing them to perform for tourists.

清迈的Maesa大象营地已经决定解放公园里的大象。动物权利活动人士指责营地主人强迫大象为游客表演，给大象带来“心理痛苦”。

The activists, who called the practice “cruel,” shed light on the attraction in November, and claimed that baby elephants had been “ripped from their mothers” and forced to learn tricks, such as painting, kicking soccer balls and throwing darts.

这些活动人士称这种做法“残忍”，他们在去年11月揭露了这个景点，并声称小象是“从母亲身边被扯下来的”，被迫学习绘画、踢足球和投掷飞镖等技巧。

Maesa’s managers now allow several of their elephants to wander the grounds freely, with plans to do the same for all 77 of the animals at their park, according to executive officer Anchalee Kalamaphichit.

Maesa的管理人员现在允许他们的几头大象自由地在公园里漫步，他们计划对公园里的77头大象也做同样的事情。

“The center has been criticized for a long time about how we chain the animals in here, so we decided to free them,” she said in a statement to Vital Press. “We are glad that they appeared to be happier living without chains and their mahouts, so hopefully we can free the rest of them soon.

她在给《生命报》的一份声明中说:“长期以来，人们一直批评我们把动物关在这里的方式，所以我们决定释放它们。”“我们很高兴看到他们在没有锁链和马具的情况下生活得更快乐，所以希望我们能尽快释放他们。”

“However, living freely is a new thing to these elephants,” she continued. “They need time to adapt into their new way of living, so we chose to start with the eldest and friendliest of the elephants.”

“然而，对这些大象来说，自由生活是一件新鲜事，”她继续说。“它们需要时间来适应新的生活方式，所以我们选择从最年长、最友好的大象开始。”