I just had to share this good news with you! I will just copy part of Katherine's journal to give you the update (I hope she won't mind, she is now so busy with the rescue that I haven't got a reply from her yet).
"Thanks to your urgent responses to our pleas to help take Pheung Yai away from the torture and bring him to a life of freedom at BLES, we have been able to raise the funds to secure his well being and happiness. We had a significant donation from The Elephants Umbrella Fund, plus donations of all amounts from across the globe. By combining your contributions, we have proved what can happen when friends, strangers, and even enemies unite, work together, and put the needs of an abused animal before their own. There are so many people I should mention who have played a pivotal role in this mission. You all know who you are and I will never be able to write enough thank yous for the creative and relentless support you have shown to BLES, and most importantly to Pheung Yai. We have put down a deposit for Pheung Yai and are now waiting for the funds to be cleared and transferred to us here in Thailand. If all goes to plan, Pheung Yai should be joining the rest of our family early next month! :))
It seems so unfair to tell you this, but Wassana has been sold:((( She was sold for 550 000 baht to a camp owner who will use her to give taxi rides to tourists. When we heard that there was a possibility she would be sold to someone else, Anon and I raced to confront the owners. As we turned into the road, there was an empty truck parked on the side. The owner refused to come out and talk to us and it didn’t take us long to work out that the only thing these people cared about was money. Eventually, the owners wife came out and I kept asking her over and over again, “How could you do this”?
I was inconsolable. I couldn’t fathom how people could be so cruel — her old owners for working her so extensively and the new owner for continuing to work her. Wassana is missing the front part of her left front foot. She stepped on a land mine and her foot was shattered. I can’t even begin to imagine the agony she must have endured. Her wound has healed, but that doesn’t mean the pain, both physical and physiological, has resolved. On top of this, Wassana has stress related swellings hanging from her belly. Her tail hair has been cut short and her toe nails are cracked. She is tired and needs to be retired.
We are not giving up. Wassana will be with us at BLES, but we are going to have to spend more time and more frustratingly, more money, to get her here. She was sold for 550 000 baht. IF she is for sale (we are currently trying to track her down and touch base with the new owner) We will be lucky if we can get her for 560 000 baht. Yes, it is a lot of money to pay, but how can we put a price tag on her life? Turning a blind eye is not an option. We must strive towards her rescue and recuperation at BLES. It is non-negotiable.
And so, I call on you again. If there is anyway you can help save Wassana, please do it today. Share her plight and photos, encourage others to donate — each and every donation counts. There is no such thing as a ‘tiny amount’. It takes a thousand raindrops to fill the pond — the pond that Wassana will swim in when she comes home to BLES.
It seems so unfair to tell you this, but Wassana has been sold:((( She was sold for 550 000 baht to a camp owner who will use her to give taxi rides to tourists. When we heard that there was a possibility she would be sold to someone else, Anon and I raced to confront the owners. As we turned into the road, there was an empty truck parked on the side. The owner refused to come out and talk to us and it didn’t take us long to work out that the only thing these people cared about was money. Eventually, the owners wife came out and I kept asking her over and over again, “How could you do this”?
I was inconsolable. I couldn’t fathom how people could be so cruel — her old owners for working her so extensively and the new owner for continuing to work her. Wassana is missing the front part of her left front foot. She stepped on a land mine and her foot was shattered. I can’t even begin to imagine the agony she must have endured. Her wound has healed, but that doesn’t mean the pain, both physical and physiological, has resolved. On top of this, Wassana has stress related swellings hanging from her belly. Her tail hair has been cut short and her toe nails are cracked. She is tired and needs to be retired.
We are not giving up. Wassana will be with us at BLES, but we are going to have to spend more time and more frustratingly, more money, to get her here. She was sold for 550 000 baht. IF she is for sale (we are currently trying to track her down and touch base with the new owner) We will be lucky if we can get her for 560 000 baht. Yes, it is a lot of money to pay, but how can we put a price tag on her life? Turning a blind eye is not an option. We must strive towards her rescue and recuperation at BLES. It is non-negotiable.
And so, I call on you again. If there is anyway you can help save Wassana, please do it today. Share her plight and photos, encourage others to donate — each and every donation counts. There is no such thing as a ‘tiny amount’. It takes a thousand raindrops to fill the pond — the pond that Wassana will swim in when she comes home to BLES.
Love and gratitude,
Katherine and the elephants"
I am beyond happy for the rescue of little Pheung Yai and I am glad I could be a part of it.
If anyone can make a donation, and no donation is too small, it would mean the world to Wassana!
5 comments:
What joy for the little guy and what sadness for his Mom. It's always about the money, so she is in slavery, yet again. That's just so sad.
What a sad story...I hope the Mom will be rescued soon. Where is money sent?
(The horses wear masks to keep bugs out of their eyes).
So happy for the little one; and I will keep fingers crossed that his Mum can be found and saved also. I hope they can both be in a happy and compassionate place together SOON. Greed and cruelty are such unbecoming traits in the human race, it makes me sad for the world.
Here's to a happy ending for Wassana too. Poor girl. Thank goodness for people like Katherine and you, Sandra.
This so hard to read. I'm glad for Pheung Yai of course, just so sad it couldn't be happy ending for Wassana too. Thank you for the wonderful work you do, Sandra.
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