A LIMERICK animal rights activist has condemned the movie ‘The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared’, which opens in cinemas locally this weekend.
Billed as a comedy, the Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN) founded by Limerick man John Carmody, believe there is nothing funny about Felix Herngren’s film, which they claim uses an abused circus elephant.
ARAN have now joined forces with Animal Defenders International (ADI) in condemning the film’s use of an elephant named Vana Mana, which previously featured in a shocking exposé by ADI at the Great British Circus in the UK.
ADI’s horrifying footage showed Vana Mana and her companions Sonja and Delhi being beaten by both her trainer and groom and chained for long periods. The footage prompted an outcry and Delhi, who was chronically lame, has since died. Vana Mana and Sonja remain with their abusive trainer, touring with circuses across Europe under new names.
John Carmody is now urging filmgoing audiences to boycott ‘The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared’, a film adaptation of Jonas Jonasson’s best-selling book, and spend their money on another movie.
“The nasty little secret behind The Hundred-Year-Old Man will horrify those with the hardest of hearts as they head to the cinema this week and pay for their tickets to essentially see a beaten elephant perform in a completely unnatural surrounding,”
“We’d urge people to skip this shameful movie and go elsewhere,” he said.
Mr Carmody recently called on newly elected councillors to Limerick City and County Council to pass a motion to ban animal-act circuses in Limerick. He believes that due to constant travelling, circuses cannot provide animals with adequate facilities to keep them physically or psychologically healthy.
