New York is a Rotten Apple
for
Elephants in Zoos
IDA's elephant scientist, Dr. Toni Frohoff, has been speaking out about the Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants list and the predominance of New York State zoos on the list. Three of the 2014 ten worst zoos for elephants are from New York: the Bronx Zoo, Buffalo Zoo, and Rosamond Gifford Zoo. She highlighted that, "The cold climate of New York is certainly not meant for elephants who have evolved for millennia to live in tropical climates." Also highlighted is how "conservation under the guise of captivity" should not continue in any of these zoos.
The continued media attention helps raise awareness towards the cruel treatments these elephants face. One elephant in particular, Happy at the Bronx Zoo, has exhibited signs not only of elephants' vast intelligence, but also her self-awareness of her situation. Happy is able to recognize herself in a mirror and recognizes her own loneliness as she has been forced to live alone for the past ten years.
As Frohoff stated, many zoos are closing their elephant exhibits, and hopefully this media attention leads New York zoos to follow suit.
Click here to read more and listen to the audio news report.
Mali the Elephant Has Lived Alone in a Concrete Prison for 40 Years. Here’s How You Can Help!
Forty years ago when Mali, a baby elephant, was just learning how to swim and find her own food, she was snatched from her mother and sent to the Philippines, as a gift for the president at that time, Ferdinand Marcos. Her home, once the grasslands of Sri Lanka, was now a barren enclosure ofconcrete walls and concrete floors at the Manila Zoo. This would be her home for the next forty years. And for those four decades, she would not see her mother or another elephant again. Mali has lived all alone since 1977. And it’s clear she’s never considered this zoo her home.
An Elephant in Distress
Over the years, Mali’s mental well being has spiraled into a chronic depression. Living between concrete walls with no grass or trees in sight has also damaged her psychical health and she suffers, as many zoo elephants do, from arthritis and foot problems. To ease her foot pain, she spends most of every day leaning against the walls of her enclosure. In the wild, elephants will roam up to thirty miles a day over grasslands and various terrains. Mali’s only terrain is concrete. As a result, the soles of her feet are full of severe cracks.
In 2012, the elephant expert Dr. Henry Richardson medically examined Mali. His report cites cracked pads, cracked nails, and overgrown cuticles. Richardson states, “I am absolutely certain Mali has pain in her front limbs and feet.”
The zoo, however, has done nothing to help and continues to ignore Mali’s health problems. And if her condition is left untreated, there is a high likelihood that she will go lame and no longer be able to support her own weight. This is a leading cause of death among elephants. When they collapse and cannot get back up, their body weight crushes their internal organs, ultimately leading to death.
Denied of Freedom
Like humans, elephants need other elephants in order to live a happy and fulfilled life. But for forty years, Mali has been in solitary confinement. This, combined with her foot ailments makes for an incredibly miserable existence for Mali. Many studies have shown that the mental and physical distress that captivity causes elephants, especially solitary elephants, leads to high mortality rates and illness. Zoos are indeed the worst places for elephants.
Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary (BLES), in Thailand has offered Mali a home and all the care she needs. Experts recommend this sanctuary as the best place for Mali. Filipino officials, however, have refused to let her go. The government is denying Mali of any hope of a better life and of surviving. PETA has even came forward and offered to pay for the transportation fees and care, so the only thing standing between Mali and her freedom is her captors.
The Boon Lott’s Sanctuary offers everything Mali needs. Hundreds of acres of grasslands, banana plantations and rivers. Unlike Mali, the elephants here can roam for miles, forage for food, swim and play. Mali does not even have grass beneath her feet or surrounding trees.
Victories for Other Elephants Like Mali
While her case might seem especially dismal, we can’t lose hope for Mali. Many other elephants who have been faced with similarly bleak circumstances and relentless captors have found their way to freedom, largely because of action from people like you!
Back in 2007, an elephant called Sunder was given as a gift to a temple in India. He was chained up in a dark shed and beaten every day. Six years later, word spread about Sunder’s terrible abuse and PETA India released undercover video footage of his abuse. Over 220,000 people watched the video. Thanks to people around the world writing letters to authorities urging them to release Sunder, his life changed forever. In 2014, Sunder got released and sent to a sanctuary.
Another elephant who had a similar ending is Raju. For fifty years, Raju was held in spiked chains and abused, daily. Several months ago, wildlife conservationists rescued Raju. They said, the elephant actually cried when they set him free. He now lives at an elephant care center in Mathura. As elephants can live up to seventy years of age, experts hope he will live at least another ten years.
That would mean Mali has thirty years left. But with her serious foot injuries, her life may end much earlier than that. Unless medical care is provided to her soon and her living conditions are improved dramatically, there is a real chance she will never get to fell real grass under her feet again.
Help for Mali
Time is running out for Mali. She doesn’t have long and she’s desperate for your help. Please, urge officials to transfer Mali to the sanctuary in Thailand, by signing this petition. Share her story with others and prompt your friends and family to sign the petition too.
If you live outside the Philippines, why not write a letter to your country’s Philippines Ambassador to ask that he/she does everything to help Mali? Find contact details here. You could also gather friends and hold a leafleting event outside your Philippine Embassy.
To show your support and to stay updated, like the Free Mali Facebook page.
Stop Abusing Elephants for Tourist Shows in Thailand - Tell Thailand's Tourism Authority to stop the abuse of elephants in tourist shows
Elephants playing football, elephants with hoops,
elephants painting - these kind of shows are often visited by tourists in
Thailand. But many people don't see the abuse that the animals suffer.
Elephants endure horrific
treatment for the sake of entertainment. Elephants are not domesticated,
meaning that before they can perform in shows, they must be 'broken'. The
Phajaan, or Crush is a horrific ritual that is carried out on every baby
elephant before it is trained for shows or elephant trekking. This usually
involves being kept chained in a small space and ritually beaten, potentially
starved, until they respond to their new master.
The elephant is meant to be revered by the Thai people, but these shows are a sign of disrespect and should be stopped. Tourists will always wish to see elephants, but it must be done in a way that does not involved the Phajaan or abusive treatment.
The elephant is meant to be revered by the Thai people, but these shows are a sign of disrespect and should be stopped. Tourists will always wish to see elephants, but it must be done in a way that does not involved the Phajaan or abusive treatment.
Please sign my petition to
ask the Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand to stop the abuse of
performing elephants in shows. If enough people sign, we can show that as
tourists we will not visit these shows and trade will suffer if the abuse is not
stopped.
This video (click the picture above), taken by a tourist at the Namuang Safari Park in Ko Samui, shows the horrific treatment elephants must endure for the sake of 'entertainment'. The shock of the crowd as the trainer smashes his metal bull-hook into the elephant's head is clearly heard.
And this is only the tip of the iceberg. Elephants are not 'domesticated', meaning that before they can perform in this kind of show, they must be 'broken'. The 'Phajaan', or 'Crush' is a horrific ritual that is carried out on every baby elephant before it is trained for shows or elephant trekking.
The elephant is meant to be revered by the Thai people, but these shows are a sign of disrespect and should be stopped. Tourists will always wish to see elephants, but it must be done in a way that does not involved the Phajaan or abusive treatment. Please sign my petition to ask the Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand to stop the abuse of performing elephants in shows. If enough people sign, we can show that as tourists we will not visit these shows and trade will suffer if the abuse is not stopped.
We call on the Tourism Authority of Thailand to:
- Denounce elephant shows in which elephants are abused in this way
- Refuse to promote ANY venue where this kind of performance is held
- Demand that the promotion of cruel elephant shows by tour operators and travel agents carrying the TAT logo is stopped.
- Implement a Code of Practice for activities involving elephants
We understand that tourism is vital for many elephants and their trainers in Thailand, as they would otherwise be unemployed. But as tourists, we cannot accept this kind of abuse of an animal for entertainment.
This petition was created by the www.RIGHT-tourism.org campaign, run by Care for the Wild International to try and help tourists be animal-friendly.
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