The capture and training of wild elephants for elephant back safaris and circuses in South Africa
Sat, 2007-11-17 19:28 — jpoole
I flew to South Africa on 7/11 to attend a one day meeting on 8/11 organized by the Department of Environment and Tourism (DEAT) to discuss the capture from the wild and training of elephants for elephant back safaris and circuses. The object of the meeting was for DEAT to hear the differing opinions of the "Elephant Industy", animal welfare and elephant experts and to incorporate these into the revised Norms and Standards for the Management of South Africa's Elephants. I was invited to present my opinions as an elephant expert.
This is the same process as the public discussions revolving around the culling (killing for population control) of elephants. Culling has received considerable international attention, but the public has been largely unaware of the inhumane treatment of elephants that goes on in the name of elephant back safaris. People have probably been unaware, too, that South Africa has circus elephants.
On 12th November DEAT announced that it had decided that captive elephants don't come under their jurisdiction, rather they come under the Animal Protection Act. Unfortunately the APA is, apparently, notoriously weak. At the moment the draft Norms and Standards will continue to allow the capture of elephants (calves taken from their families) and the training of these individuals for the "Elephant Industry".
As yet the Minister is not aware of the negative impact that the continuation of these outdated practices may have on South Africa's image internationally. He will receive the draft document toward the end of the month. We still have an opportunity to influence his decision and I will be writing to him to convey mine.
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Elephant-back Safaris & Capturing Calves
Thanks for this story, Joyce, and thanks for making the huge effort of traveling to South Africa to give your expert advice. Before last week I thought there were only a few elephant-back safari operators in southern Africa but I found out that there are 92 elephants in the industry in South Africa alone. I am appalled by this figure. The great majority of these elephants have been forcibly removed from their mothers and families, a process that has to be the most disturbing and stressful thing a mother and calf can go through short of death. Then the calf' has to be tamed and trained, another process we now know is exceptionally cruel. The object of the training is to make the elephant totally compliant and the only way to do this is to break it's spirit. Tourists planning to travel to South Africa should at the least boycott elephant-back safaris and should seriously consider changing their plans and going to a country in Africa that doesn't treat it's elephants in this way.