(Image source from: Mary Kom shoots in support of circus elephants})

Five-time world champion and Olympic bronze-medallist boxer, M C Mary Kom has come up in support of animal welfare, demanding a closure to circuses where elephants are kept chained and maltreated, in her brand new ad shot for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

'Magnificent Mary', as she is dubbed in the Bioxing arena, shot the ad for PETA just recently. The ad comes with a caption that reads, "Elephants Belong in the Wild, Not in Chains. Ban Animal Circuses".

Shot by acclaimed photographer Gaurav Sawn, the ad vehemently opposed the cruelty elephants and other animals in the circus are subjected to.

"Circuses are cruel places for animals where they are beaten and tortured. As a mother, I can imagine what animals go through when their children are taken away from them to forcefully perform in circuses. It's sad," said Mary.

"We, humans, choose to perform but animals are given no choice."

The ad comes after nine-month long investigation by PETA and its sister organisation Animal Rahat, the Animal Welfare Board of India, a statutory body operating under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, on animal cruelty in circuses. These animal welfare organizations have demanded a ban on registration of elephants in circuses. However, this decision is yet to come through.

AW: Suchorita Choudhury