THE heartbreaking story of a lonely and sick captive elephant will be highlighted to thousands of people thanks to kind-hearted pupils at a Bournemouth primary school.

A thought-provoking video in which Kingsleigh pupils plead for help for Mali has been adopted by a leading animal welfare organisation.

Now it will feature on the website for PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and staff and pupils at the Hadow Road school hope it will lead to the eventual rescue of the tragic captive.

Mali was snatched as a baby from her native Sri Lanka in 1974 and has spent 35 years in a small concrete pen in Manila Zoo.

She is the only captive elephant in the Philippines and suffers from complex medical and mental health problems due to her lack of space and loneliness.

PETA hopes she can be transferred to an elephant sanctuary in Thailand and spend her final years with other elephants.

Pupils who made the video are fiercely proud of it and said anyone viewing it should be warned how sad it is.

In the video, several children speak as if they are Mali, describing how she was snatched from a loving family and endured years of suffering.

They then ask the question: “Are you going to leave her there?” before showing a disturbing image of Mali holding her own tail because she has no contact with other animals.

A whole class then asks members of the public to help Mali and to sign the petition at freemali.com. The video was made as part of literacy lessons in Year 6.

Teacher Holly Graff told the Daily Echo: “The children are so excited to see a real outcome from their writing. It shows the children that their writing can have power and that they should stand up for things they feel strongly about.”

More details are available from peta.org.uk