Thailand, which is a mesmerizingly beautiful travel destination offering unforgettable eco-adventures, exotic beaches and a wide range of cultures, is also known for its elephant slavery. From fewer than 50,000 Asian elephants left in the wild, sadly 3,000 to 4,000 are held in chains here.

In 2017, Planting Peace began rescuing Asian elephants out of slavery. With a goal to save an elephant every month, the organization has never stopped since.

More info: Planting Peace

Aaron Jackson, together with the Planting Peace organization, has been documenting the many elephants they’ve saved from slavery in chains

Image credits: Aaron Jackson

Image credits: Aaron Jackson

Image credits: Aaron Jackson

Planting Peace is a nonprofit humanitarian organization which was founded back in 2004 by American Aaron Jackson and Haitian John Louis Dieubon for the purpose of ‘spreading peace in a hurting world’.

The first elephant the organization rescued from chains was named Mae. She was 35 years old and had been enslaved her whole life in the logging industry in Laos.

“She was enslaved as a riding elephant. Her feet were in chains for roughly 30 years before Planting Peace took them off for good,” Aaron shared on his Facebook profile at the time.

Yet, probably the most viral video was about an elephant called Mare Noi who had spent the last 41 years of her life in chains. The short clip shows her taking her first steps to freedom.

“You are looking at the newest free elephant in the world. This is her first time walking free,” Aaron said in the clip and explained that she was a logging and breeding elephant before the rescue.

“Poor girl has lost 3 babies to the practice. That ends today. Planting Peace raised 37k in the last 24 hours to buy her freedom. She’s going to one of my fav elephant sanctuaries in the world… Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary – BLES,” he shared. “She will have 500 acres to roam chain free. They’re such an incredible organization. Happy to say in 48 hours, we will pick her up and there will be one less chained up, abused elephant in the world. Thanks to all who made that happen,” Aaron added.

The first elephant the organization rescued, named Mae, was 35 years old and had been enslaved her whole life in the logging industry in Laos

Image credits: Aaron Jackson

Image credits: Aaron Jackson

Image credits: Aaron Jackson

Their other, no less touching story was about an elephant named Jong. She was tied to a tree starving to death at an abandoned elephant riding camp that went out of business because of Covid.

“Elephants won’t eat where they use the bathroom, so being chained to a tree with no one moving her is why she is 50 percent underweight,” Aaron explained. “You can not only clearly see her ribs but her head is also sinking in due to being underweight. On top of it all, she is blind in her right eye. She was hit in the eye with a metal chain by her ‘caretaker’ while he was abusing her,” he added.

Thanks to the generous donor who gave Planting Peace the funds to buy her freedom, now the elephant is safe after being in chains for 50 years.

“We were able to buy her freedom, and we donated her to a rescue called Mandalao. She gained 200 pounds within her first ten days as a free elephant,” the man recalled memories in the interview with Bored Panda.

Aaron Jackson, who was honored as a CNN Hero for his efforts to protect Haitian children from parasites, started rescuing elephants 7 years ago by accident.

“Late one night, I was bored watching a documentary about elephants in chains, and it inspired me to act,” Aaron shared with us. “That night, I bought a ticket to Southeast Asia and started investigating how to rescue an elephant. I found an elephant named Mae that was bonded in the woods and chained to a tree. I freed her and never stopped working on the elephants’ behalf,” he added.

With 10,000 elephants enslaved in the logging industry in Asia and with at least 2,000 of them being used for tourists to ride on their backs, Aaron together with the Planting Peace organization is trying to change the situation, yet it all depends on donors’ support. Therefore, anyone who’s willing to contribute to their rescues and join the movement for a better world can find more information about it here.

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Asked about what makes the elephants so special, Aaron said that mostly their spirit.

“One thing that is always surprising about them is that the world can be so horrible to them. They have spent their whole lives being abused, and yet that can still be so sweet,” he shared.

Image credits: Aaron Jackson

Adult elephants have no real predators in the wild except us humans, and, sadly enough, Thailand is not the only place where these largest living land animals are traded, tortured or imprisoned for rides. A very similar situation occurs in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia.

Aaron and the Planting Peace organization with help from people around the world are trying to change it by making a direct impact today. And for them, there’s no better feeling than to see the elephants who spent their whole life in chains finally freely roaming across 500 acres of land and making friends.

People on the internet shared their gratitude to Aaron Jackson and the Planting Peace organization for their meaningful work

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