An elephant walking without chains for the first time in 41 years has won the hearts of Internet users (8 photos)

Thailand is not only a stunningly beautiful tourist destination with exotic beaches and a rich culture, but it is also a country where elephant slavery still flourishes. Of the less than 50,000 Asian elephants left in the wild, between 3,000 and 4,000 unfortunate animals are kept in captivity, chained up.





However, in 2017, the organization Planting Peace began an active campaign to save these elephants from slavery, with a goal of freeing one animal per month. And now, one of these elephants has finally found freedom for the first time in 41 years, and footage of his first free walk has touched the hearts of thousands of people online.

Aaron Jackson, with Planting Peace, documents the many elephants rescued from slavery in chains









Planting Peace is a humanitarian non-profit organization founded in 2004 American Aaron Jackson and Haitian John Louis Diebon with the goal of “spreading peace to a hurting world.” In 2017, the organization began an active campaign to save Asian elephants enslaved in Thailand.

The first elephant to be freed from chains was a 35-year-old elephant named May. She had spent her entire life in slavery, being used in logging operations in Laos. “She had been enslaved as a riding elephant. Her legs were in chains for about 30 years until Planting Peace took them off for good,” said Aaron Jackson.

However, perhaps the most viral video was of the release of an elephant named Mare Noi, who had spent the last 41 years of her life in chains. The short clip shows her taking her first steps toward long-awaited freedom. “This is the newest free elephant in the world. This is her first time being free,” Aaron said in the video, explaining that before she was rescued, she was an elephant who was used for logging and breeding.

Planting Peace raised $37,000 to buy Mare Noi and send her to one of the best elephant sanctuaries in the world, Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary (BLES), where she will be able to roam free on 500 acres of land. “This is such an incredible organization. I’m so happy to say that in 48 hours we will be rehoming her, and that will be one less elephant in the world chained up,” Aaron shared.

The first elephant rescued by the organization was a 35-year-old elephant named May, who had spent her entire life as a logging slave in Laos







The story of an elephant named Jong. She was tied to a tree and starving to death at an abandoned elephant riding camp that had closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Elephants don’t eat where they go to the bathroom. She was tied to a tree and was 50 percent underweight,” explained Aaron Jackson, founder of Planting Peace. “Not only can you clearly see her ribs, but you can also see that her head is drooping because she’s so underweight. To top it all off, she’s blind in her right eye. She was hit in the eye with a metal chain by her ‘keeper’ while he was abusing her.” Thankfully, thanks to a generous donor who gave Planting Peace the money to buy Jong back, the elephant is now safe after 50 years in chains.

Aaron Jackson started rescuing elephants seven years ago. “I watched a documentary one night about the abuse of Asian elephants. About two hours after watching it, I bought a ticket to South Asia to buy an elephant out of slavery,” Aaron recalls. Since then, he and Planting Peace have continued to fight to free elephants enslaved in logging camps and tourist camps. But to do so, they need the support of caring people.



Adult elephants have few natural predators in the wild, but their biggest enemy is humans. Unfortunately, Thailand is not the only place where these majestic animals are mistreated, used as labor, or kept in captivity for the entertainment of tourists. A similar situation is developing in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

Planting Peace, led by Aaron Jackson, is trying to change this horrific reality. With the support of people from all over the world, they buy elephants out of slavery and send them to safe sanctuaries where they can finally find their long-awaited freedom.

For Aaron and his team, there is nothing more inspiring than seeing elephants who have spent their entire lives in chains now free to roam 500 acres of land and make new friends. It reminds them that their efforts are not in vain and that they are making a real difference in the lives of these amazing animals.