Dia Mirza takes up cause of captive elephants

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Dia Mirza has now ‘become’ Ellie, Asia’s first empathy-building elephant.  In a heartwarming video on her social media, Dia Mirza has supported a beautiful education initiative to sensitize young children about the plight of such captive animals. She is the voice of Ellie, Asia’s first animatronic empathy-building elephant, an initiative by People for the Ethical treatment of Animals (PETA) at Mumbai’s Jamnabai Narsee School.

“As a mother, it’s an extremely conscious choice for me to support education initiatives that create such a beautiful and innocent sense of connection with nature among children,” she declared. Dia has supported numerous causes throughout her career, but those involving children are always close to her heart.

As a parent, she believes in leading by example for her own children, Avyaan and Samaira, and hopes that through Ellie, the pain and loneliness of elephants in captivity resonate with the future generation, moving a step ahead to raise a voice against the use of this majestic creature for our entertainment in circuses.

“While I was reading the script, the part that tore into my heart was when Ellie shared how she was taken away from her mother and her family, and how painful that must be, for an elephant or any being, to be taken away from your loved ones,” she said.

Miss Asia Pacific International 2000, the beauty queen-turned-model and actor wears many hats. UN Secretary-General Advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals and UN Environment Program Goodwill Ambassador, (PETA), Dia is also an ambassador for the Wildlife Trust of India and a global ambassador for IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare). She has also been allied with many more social initiatives.