Artist Who Made People Cry With Her ‘Good Boy’ And ‘Black Cat’ Comics Is Back, And This Time It’s About Elephants Interview With Artist
German illustrator Jenny-Jinya is notorious for bringing her fans to tears. Her comic strips were dubbed tearjerkers as they showed just how cruel some people can be to animals. Jenny now has a whopping 285K followers on Instagram, proving that people aren’t immune to animal cruelty, abandonment, pollution, environmental hazards, and other hardships.
This time, Jenny is back with another heartbreaking strip which raises awareness of just how cruel and damaging elephant rides can be. It turns out, animals are taken from their families in the wild and forced to live in captivity where they’re constantly terrorized. Prepare some tissues at hand and take a look at the comic down below.
When you’re done with this post, check out the illustrator’s other powerful comics featuring a black cat, a duck, an albatross, and a lion.
More info: jenny-jinya.com | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Jenny has released a strip about an elephant working in a tourist ride, which raises awareness of animal cruelty
Image credits: Jenny Jinya
Bored Panda contacted Jenny to find out about the idea behind this particular elephant comic strip. It turns out, the illustrator came across a photo showing a captured baby elephant that moved her so deeply. “It was tied up and seemed to scream in pain when the so-called trainers hit the poor creature.”
Jenny is convinced that “if more tourists knew how elephants are tortured to make them submissive, perhaps fewer people would support these ’attractions.’” The artist said that after the release of this strip, she received tons of messages from people admitting they had ridden elephants in past. “They had no idea how these animals were ’trained,’“ she said.
Image credits: Jenny Jinya
Image credits: Jenny Jinya
Image credits: Jenny Jinya
Image credits: Jenny Jinya
Image credits: Jenny Jinya
Image credits: Jenny Jinya
Image credits: Jenny Jinya
Jenny confessed that the whole process of drawing such heartbreaking stories is quite saddening. “Conducting research about the issue in question is always depressing enough, but when I sketch out the storyboard, a few tears run down my cheeks, too,” she told Bored Panda.
There are many reasons why some people are so cruel to animals. Jenny says that “Some people think about profit, others are just poorly educated about certain topics, and some people might just have a crooked mentality.” But the artist believes that educating people, supporting shelters, signing petitions, and reducing the consumption of animal products go a long way.
Image credits: Jenny Jinya
According to World Animal Protection, people who want to ride elephants for entertainment have increased. This has escalated the number of elephants captured from the wild and kept in captivity by almost a third over the last five years, according to BBC.
In 2016, WAP inspected 3000 elephants living across Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and parts of India. They found that only 200 of them were living in acceptable captive conditions. Dr. Jan Schmidt-Burbach, global wildlife and veterinary adviser at World Animal Protection (WAP), told BBC: “We want tourists to know that many of these elephants are taken from their mothers as babies, forced to endure harsh training and suffer poor living conditions throughout their life.”
People shared their own views on elephant riding
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When I was about five, my mum and her friend took us, two girls, to a circus with animals. After the show we were offered rides on the elephants. The other girl, two years older, went on and enjoyed it. When the man tried to lift me up too, I went on a complete meltdown and curled under a seat. My mum was incredibly embarrassed and yelled at me for hours. I tried to explain that the elephant smelt terribly and had open wounds on the "saddle" (all that while screaming in fear and anger), but nothing. The fear and sadness of that animal is still engrained to my brain, 20 years later. Then, in late elementary school I was part of the animal rescue society, and we were given the task to present an important case of animal abuse to the school. I suggested circus animals and we settled on it.
I half-regret it, since we witnessed *horrifying* situations of chronically abused animals, like tigers and lions clawing at their cages until they tore out their nails and teeth, and elephants swaying from wall to wall endlessly. We even found MRIs done on rescued circus animals that showed wasted brain matter and patterns similar to human extreme abuse. However, the worst part wasnt the physical issues these animals face. At least to me, the scariest thing is that they were driven insane and self-destructed like humans. Thankfully, a couple of years later the EU banned circuses with animals, and goodriddense to them.
However, I would like to point out that, at least here in the EU, there's plenty of sanctuaries and rescues where you can go see real, rescued animals, like lions and bears, and they're not a scam. The audience is forced to keep their distance, the staff and signs are very informative and the animals don't perform tricks anymore. But if they're okay with people, they might be brought in for a pet (not the lions, obviously), so make sure you do your research, there's plenty of places that really care for abused animals. There's a fantastic bear sanctuary in Greece, called Arcturus, where they look after rescued bears. The animals roam free in a high altitude natural environment and their medicals needs, such as pureed food (because many had their teeth removed), are provided. You need to do a good hike to reach it, but if you happen to be in the north of Greece, it's def worth a visit.
I am also so happy that we banned that toxic shit! Never again!
These were good reads. I never rode on an elephant, but I'm glad I never did. If it makes you feel happier, circuses are beginning to use holographic animals instead of real ones.
@Sperenity: Not really, in the sense that I don't find anything entertaining in a real or fake tiger doing the chicken dance with a carpet as a hat. If people do enjoy the hologram then great, but I don't see anything worth spending time on. If it's research on real animals to show their capabilities, intelligence and artistic inclinations, that's brilliant, but other than that just go to a santuary or even a good zoo to see the animals.
Your mother yelled at you for hours for this? Please tell me you're exaggerating her being that dense and unempathetic.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
I have no problem with animals performing at a circus as long as they are not abused. The is a rather large caveat and non negotiable. However if the circus treats then as we should any other working animal then it helps keep people interested in preserving these animals that are otherwise seen as competition for resources or dangerous. Sadly if mankind doesn't have a purpose for a type of animal that animal tends to go extinct so preservationists pushing to end all use instead of making it humane may not realize it but they pushing in a direction of extinction for these animals.
WHAT THE HELL? Abused or not animals shouldn't be taken from their homes and forced into a circus for the pathetic purpose of entertaining humans! And "Sadly if mankind doesn't have a purpose for a type of animal that animal tends to go extinct so preservationists pushing to end all use instead of making it humane may not realize it but they pushing in a direction of extinction for these animals" is complete BS!!! Lions don't serve a purpose to humans (because I don't count having them in a circus a "purpose") and they aren't extinct. Also in case you didn't know, the "purpose" animals have to humans is I don't know, KEEPING THE FOOD STABLE! Animals do not exist for the benefit of humans! They have their own lives! And really we don't animals to survive, because humans don't need to eat meat.
Animals who perform in circuses are abused. It's not natural or healthy or kind for animals to be separated from their mothers at very young ages and forced to perform for humans. Especially elephants who live in large, close families in the wild. The emotional lives of elephants is well documented, which makes their capture(kidnapping) and subsequent harsh and abusive living conditions even more unforgivable. They grieve their dead, they search for and mourn their missing, they show compassion and joy individually and as a herd family. Elephants don't breed well in captivity so the vast majority in zoos, circuses, or any other money making operation have been stolen as babies from their mothers in the wild. This is abuse. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/echo-an-elephant-to-remember-elephant-emotions/4489/
Physical pain isn't the only abuse animals suffer. Animals that go through stuff like this suffer from a lot of mental trauma. I find everything you just said completely idiotic.
"If mankind doesn't have a purpose for a type of animal..." So if we don't have a use for a species, it doesn't have a purpose and we won't try to save it from extinction? Or we will deliberately push it towards extinction?
i read this in only 30 seconds and i'm crying
Me too!!!!
"Animals weren't put on the earth for us - we're here for them." - Angelica Huston, actress. When you read the comments like Adrian Ward's you understand why our planet will be made barren and all life it once supported will be extinct in relatively short period of time. Also you understand why people abuse and exploit their fellow human beings. The link between cruelty to animals and violence against people is indisputable. There will be no human rights and justice without animal rights - their right to happiness and life without pain and suffering, period! There's no other way about it.
when i was in sixth grade & reading the giver, the scene with the elephant poachers broke my heart. because the only news of poaching i had seen was preventive measures, i didn't know people still poached. when i found out, i had to stay home from school because i couldn't stop sobbing. elephants are such beautiful, gentle, intelligent creatures. i wish i could save them all.
I would save every animal from harm. None of them deserve that.
No they don’t
Seventh and same but I was in the middle of class so I didn't let myself cry. It still broke my heart.
At least your parents had enough of a heart to let you stay home...
oh no my class is reading that book im scared now
PrincessTheSiameseKat follower
When I was about five, my mum and her friend took us, two girls, to a circus with animals. After the show we were offered rides on the elephants. The other girl, two years older, went on and enjoyed it. When the man tried to lift me up too, I went on a complete meltdown and curled under a seat. My mum was incredibly embarrassed and yelled at me for hours. I tried to explain that the elephant smelt terribly and had open wounds on the "saddle" (all that while screaming in fear and anger), but nothing. The fear and sadness of that animal is still engrained to my brain, 20 years later. Then, in late elementary school I was part of the animal rescue society, and we were given the task to present an important case of animal abuse to the school. I suggested circus animals and we settled on it.
I half-regret it, since we witnessed *horrifying* situations of chronically abused animals, like tigers and lions clawing at their cages until they tore out their nails and teeth, and elephants swaying from wall to wall endlessly. We even found MRIs done on rescued circus animals that showed wasted brain matter and patterns similar to human extreme abuse. However, the worst part wasnt the physical issues these animals face. At least to me, the scariest thing is that they were driven insane and self-destructed like humans. Thankfully, a couple of years later the EU banned circuses with animals, and goodriddense to them.
However, I would like to point out that, at least here in the EU, there's plenty of sanctuaries and rescues where you can go see real, rescued animals, like lions and bears, and they're not a scam. The audience is forced to keep their distance, the staff and signs are very informative and the animals don't perform tricks anymore. But if they're okay with people, they might be brought in for a pet (not the lions, obviously), so make sure you do your research, there's plenty of places that really care for abused animals. There's a fantastic bear sanctuary in Greece, called Arcturus, where they look after rescued bears. The animals roam free in a high altitude natural environment and their medicals needs, such as pureed food (because many had their teeth removed), are provided. You need to do a good hike to reach it, but if you happen to be in the north of Greece, it's def worth a visit.
I am also so happy that we banned that toxic shit! Never again!
These were good reads. I never rode on an elephant, but I'm glad I never did. If it makes you feel happier, circuses are beginning to use holographic animals instead of real ones.
@Sperenity: Not really, in the sense that I don't find anything entertaining in a real or fake tiger doing the chicken dance with a carpet as a hat. If people do enjoy the hologram then great, but I don't see anything worth spending time on. If it's research on real animals to show their capabilities, intelligence and artistic inclinations, that's brilliant, but other than that just go to a santuary or even a good zoo to see the animals.
Your mother yelled at you for hours for this? Please tell me you're exaggerating her being that dense and unempathetic.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
I have no problem with animals performing at a circus as long as they are not abused. The is a rather large caveat and non negotiable. However if the circus treats then as we should any other working animal then it helps keep people interested in preserving these animals that are otherwise seen as competition for resources or dangerous. Sadly if mankind doesn't have a purpose for a type of animal that animal tends to go extinct so preservationists pushing to end all use instead of making it humane may not realize it but they pushing in a direction of extinction for these animals.
WHAT THE HELL? Abused or not animals shouldn't be taken from their homes and forced into a circus for the pathetic purpose of entertaining humans! And "Sadly if mankind doesn't have a purpose for a type of animal that animal tends to go extinct so preservationists pushing to end all use instead of making it humane may not realize it but they pushing in a direction of extinction for these animals" is complete BS!!! Lions don't serve a purpose to humans (because I don't count having them in a circus a "purpose") and they aren't extinct. Also in case you didn't know, the "purpose" animals have to humans is I don't know, KEEPING THE FOOD STABLE! Animals do not exist for the benefit of humans! They have their own lives! And really we don't animals to survive, because humans don't need to eat meat.
Animals who perform in circuses are abused. It's not natural or healthy or kind for animals to be separated from their mothers at very young ages and forced to perform for humans. Especially elephants who live in large, close families in the wild. The emotional lives of elephants is well documented, which makes their capture(kidnapping) and subsequent harsh and abusive living conditions even more unforgivable. They grieve their dead, they search for and mourn their missing, they show compassion and joy individually and as a herd family. Elephants don't breed well in captivity so the vast majority in zoos, circuses, or any other money making operation have been stolen as babies from their mothers in the wild. This is abuse. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/echo-an-elephant-to-remember-elephant-emotions/4489/
Physical pain isn't the only abuse animals suffer. Animals that go through stuff like this suffer from a lot of mental trauma. I find everything you just said completely idiotic.
"If mankind doesn't have a purpose for a type of animal..." So if we don't have a use for a species, it doesn't have a purpose and we won't try to save it from extinction? Or we will deliberately push it towards extinction?
i read this in only 30 seconds and i'm crying
Me too!!!!
"Animals weren't put on the earth for us - we're here for them." - Angelica Huston, actress. When you read the comments like Adrian Ward's you understand why our planet will be made barren and all life it once supported will be extinct in relatively short period of time. Also you understand why people abuse and exploit their fellow human beings. The link between cruelty to animals and violence against people is indisputable. There will be no human rights and justice without animal rights - their right to happiness and life without pain and suffering, period! There's no other way about it.
when i was in sixth grade & reading the giver, the scene with the elephant poachers broke my heart. because the only news of poaching i had seen was preventive measures, i didn't know people still poached. when i found out, i had to stay home from school because i couldn't stop sobbing. elephants are such beautiful, gentle, intelligent creatures. i wish i could save them all.
I would save every animal from harm. None of them deserve that.
No they don’t
Seventh and same but I was in the middle of class so I didn't let myself cry. It still broke my heart.
At least your parents had enough of a heart to let you stay home...
oh no my class is reading that book im scared now
PrincessTheSiameseKat follower