Break the chain: A 500-mile walk for captive elephants

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Break the chain: A 500-mile walk for captive elephants

Jennifer Chaney is organizing this fundraiser.

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If captive elephants cannot walk free, I will walk for them.

Starting April 8th, I’ll walk the length of England to help break the (literal) chains of exploitation and suffering that captive elephants endure - step by step, link by link.

Follow my journey...

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@jenc19901

Instagram: www.instagram.com/jetsetjenc/

(Warning: The below video contains distressing scenes, but ends with Mee Chai’s rescue and recovery).

⛓ BREAK THE CHAIN

I’m Jen, and I recently returned from volunteering at Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT), one of Thailand’s first chain-free sanctuaries.

There, I met rescued elephants who had spent decades in captivity. Chained. Overworked. Used for rides, logging, and breeding.

Some had been blinded in one eye to make them easier to control.

Some had their babies torn from them again and again as they heartbreakingly struggled against their chains.

Many carry physical scars.

All carry invisible ones.

After surviving such atrocities, their resilience moved me. Their intelligence, their gentleness, their capacity to trust again after everything humans had done to them. I couldn't witness that and walk away without doing my part to support the cause.

So this April, I’m walking ~530 miles across the length of England to raise funds for the sanctuary giving them a second chance at life. Each day of the walk, I'll share a story of an elephant I met, what they survived, and how they are thriving today.

THE CHALLENGE

I will walk from Land’s End, the southernmost point in England, to Gretna Green in Scotland.

The Distance: ~530 miles (the entire length of England!)

The Pace: 20-25 miles every day

The Promise: 100% of your donations go directly to elephant rescue, rehabilitation, and sanctuary care. I have funded this walk myself, meaning every penny raised goes straight to the elephants.

WHY THIS CAUSE MATTERS

Elephants are deeply emotional, family-oriented, intelligent animals who form lifelong bonds. But in captivity, they are treated as property.

To make them obedient, many are put through the phajaan - a brutal process designed to break their spirit. It is as horrific as it sounds.

From there, they face a lifetime of suffering: spending 20+ hours a day in chains, suffering profound psychological trauma, and enduring the heartbreak of having their young torn from them.

The physical toll is just as devastating. Giving rides causes spinal deformities, and standing chained on hot, hard surfaces leads to agonizing foot infections that cause toe bones to disintegrate - a condition linked to 50% of captive elephant deaths.

Once captured, most can never return to the wild.

These beautiful animals deserve better.

Sanctuaries like WFFT exist to give them a second chance at life - but as an NGO, they rely entirely on support.

WHERE YOUR DONATION GOES

Your support helps provide: