Region: Africa

Ricky Gervais, Simon Pegg, Leona Lewis, Dame Judi Dench, Alesha Dixon, Brigitte Bardot, Pamela Anderson, Thandie Newton, Evanna Lynch, Virginia McKenna, Joanna Lumley and Bryan Adams call on EU leaders at CITES wildlife conference not to overturn ban on trade in wild-caught baby African elephants for zoos and circuses

Humane Society International / Europe

Carole Deschuymere/Alamy

GENEVA–Ricky Gervais, Simon Pegg, Leona Lewis, Dame Judi Dench, Alesha Dixon, Evanna Lynch, Bryan Adams, Virginia McKenna OBE, Thandie Newton, Pamela Anderson, Peter Egan, and Jenny Seagrove are among a host of compassionate personalities who have joined forces with animal protection and conservation groups including Humane Society International, Brigitte Bardot Foundation, The Born Free Foundation, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, World Animal Protection and the Species Survival Network, in signing an urgent Open Letter to EU officials calling on them to support, not oppose, a ban on trade in wild-caught baby African elephants, ripped from their families and shipped off to foreign zoos.

The ban was first voted on and approved earlier this week by a majority of countries attending the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) in Geneva, but the EU voting bloc of 28 is expected to attempt to overturn it at the plenary vote next week.

The full letter and list of celebrity signers and the organizations be read here.

Forty-six countries attending CITES voted to end the highly-controversial trade in wild-caught African elephants from Zimbabwe and Botswana to captive facilities such as zoos in China and elsewhere. This represents an historic, landmark decision for elephants, who are social and emotional creatures and can suffer physically and psychologically in captivity. However, there is concern that the vote could be reopened at next week’s plenary meeting on August 27th and 28th and that the ban will be opposed by the European Union.

The ‘ban’ was passed by the required 2/3 majority vote in Committee I of CITES largely because the EU was unable to vote due to a procedural issue (it had not yet filed its credentials). The European Union – which spoke against the ban before the vote, and now has its credentials in order – looks set to vote against. As a 28-country voting bloc, the European Union’s vote is substantial and could overturn the decision if it opposes the ban. In that case, elephant families would continue to be ripped apart, and baby elephants condemned to a lifetime of suffering in captivity.

The letter reads: “Elephants are social and emotional creatures who form strong family bonds and suffer tremendously in captivity. Captured elephants can face horrific abuse during the capture process. Footage of wild-caught baby elephants awaiting export from Zimbabwe shows calves being beaten and kicked during capture. Some elephants have died during transit or shortly after arrival. Elephants who survive the long journey into captivity have been observed living in dark, barren cells in the holding facilities and zoos, in stark and heart-breaking contrast to the vast wilderness in which they naturally roam with family groups and larger clans.”

We call on all EU Environment ministers and the Finnish Presidency, representing the EU as a 28 voting bloc at the CITES meeting, to reflect the position of the majority of African elephant range States, the great majority of EU citizens, and leading elephant experts, and support the proposal to end the export of wild-caught elephants for captive use.”

Speaking from the CITES meeting, Audrey Delsink, Humane Society International/Africa Wildlife Director and elephant biologist, said, “Elephants are highly sentient and social beings, and the loss of captured individuals causes sustained psychological trauma for both the captured elephant and the remaining family. Public opinion is shifting and people throughout the world are appalled by the capture of baby elephants from the wild for export to zoos. The EU must not turn its back on elephants.”

Will Travers OBE, President of the Born Free Foundation said, “The public are increasingly distressed at the plight of elephants in captivity and sanctuaries in the US, Brazil, Europe and elsewhere are now doing their best to care for numerous elephants that are being increasingly shed by traditional captive facilities in the West. If the EU scuppers this progressive and positive CITES measure next week it will demonstrate just how massively out of step EU leaders are with the compassionate views of its citizens.”

“France is supportive of this measure but most of the EU countries oppose the proposal although it would be an historic step forward for the conservation of the African elephant,” said Elodie Gérôme-Delgado, Programme Leader Wildlife Worldwide at the Brigitte Bardot Foundation. “We’re urging EU Member States to follow France’s lead as they have a unique chance today to put an end to a cruel and useless practice.”

Cassandra Koenen, Global Head of Wildlife not Pets at World Animal Protection said, “We urge the EU to protect these majestic animals. The world has been shocked to see distressing video and photos of terrified baby African elephants being rounded up and snatched from their families in the wild, to be shipped to zoos and circuses around the world. Elephants have suffered enough, and the absolute last thing we should subject them to is long, stressful transportation across the world, and unsuitable new homes in the name of entertainment.”

“This historic step could turn the tide on the brutal and torturous reality of the live trade in elephants. Elephants are sentient beings that belong in the wild, they are not a commodity to be traded to the highest bidder. The sooner we put the emotional wellbeing of the species before our own short-sighted financial gain, the sooner we will regain a small slice of our humanity,” said Karen Botha, Chief Executive of David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.

If the ban is not passed next week, African elephants in Zimbabwe and Botswana will continue to be allowed to capture and export live elephants to so-called “appropriate and acceptable” destinations based on the annotation to the Appendix II listing of their elephant populations. Under these conditions, Zimbabwe has captured more than 100 live baby African elephants in the wild and exported them to zoos in China since 2012.

If the EU supports the ban and it is voted through, such international trade in wild African elephant exported from Zimbabwe and Botswana will be limited to only “in situ conservation programmes or secure areas in the wild within the species’ natural range, except in the case of temporary transfers in emergency situations”.

Photos, video and interviews

Wildlife experts from supporting NGOs are available for interview on request. Photos and video of the baby elephant captures are also available here.

-ENDS-

Media contacts:

List of celebrities who have signed the letter:

Alan Carr, Alesha Dixon, Bella Lack, Bill Bailey, Bonnie Wright, Brigitte Bardot, Bryan Adams, Dan Richardson, Deborah Meaden, Dougie Poynter, Evanna Lynch, Gordon Buchanan, Jenny Seagrove, Joanna Lumley, John Challis, Judi Dench, Kate Humble, Lauren St John, Leona Lewis, Lily Travers, Brendan Courtney, Marc Abrahams, Mollie King, Nicky Campbell, Pamela Anderson, Paul O’Grady, Peter Egan, Ricky Gervais, Robert Lindsay, Rula Lenska, Simon Pegg, Susie Dent, Thandie Newton, Virginia McKenna.

List of the animal and wildlife conservation organizations that support this sign-on letter:

Animal Welfare Institute
Born Free Foundation
Born Free USA
Brigitte Bardot Foundation
Eurogroup for Animals
David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
Fondation Franz Weber
Humane Society International
Pro Wildlife
Robin des Bois
Species Survival Network
The People and Earth Solidarity Law Network
World Animal Protection

Content of the Letter:

For the attention of Jean-Claude Juncker, EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, incoming EU Commission President, and Antti Juhani Rinne, Prime Minister of Finland and President of the EU Council of Ministers

PLEASE DON’T OVERTURN THE CITES BAN ON SENDING BABY AFRICAN ELEPHANTS TO FOREIGN ZOOS AND CIRCUSES

The world has been shocked to see distressing video and photos of terrified baby African elephants being rounded up and snatched from their families in the wild, to be shipped to zoos and circuses around the world.

This week, 46 governments attending the triennual Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), in a landmark decision voted in committee to end the barbaric practice of capturing live wild-caught baby and juvenile elephants for this heartless trade. In doing so they voiced their overwhelming support for the 32 African nations who advocated for a ban on all such transports of live elephants, and restrict these transports exclusively to in situ conservation programmes or secure areas in the wild within the African elephant’s natural range. An open letter by 55 elephant experts this week agrees entirely with this position.

Shamefully, the European Union wants to overturn this historic victory. The CITES Parties will still need to take a final vote next week and the EU intends to vote against the ban. If it does so the EU’s vote will condemn wild-caught elephants to a lifetime in unnatural captivity just so that zoos and circuses in the EU and elsewhere can continue to have a steady flow of live elephants from the wild.

Elephants are social and emotional creatures who form strong family bonds and suffer tremendously in captivity. Captured elephants can face horrific abuse during the capture process. Footage of wild-caught baby elephants awaiting export from Zimbabwe shows calves being beaten and kicked during capture. Some elephants have died during transit or shortly after arrival. Elephants who survive the long journey have been observed living in dark, barren cells in the holding facilities and zoos, in stark and heartbreaking contrast to the vast wilderness in which they naturally roam with family groups and larger clans.

We call on all EU Environment ministers and the Finnish presidency, representing the EU as a 28 voting bloc at the CITES meeting, to reflect the position of the majority of African elephant range states, the great majority of EU  citizens, and leading elephant experts and support the proposal to end the export of wild-caught elephants for captive use.

It would be obscene for the EU to endorse snatching wild baby elephants and condemning these beautiful leviathans to a life of captive misery.

 

 

Humane Society International / Global

Adam Peyman/HSI African elephant ivory products for sale in Tokyo, Japan

GENEVA—The Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) today confirmed its commitment to closure of domestic ivory markets agreeing by consensus to focus scrutiny on remaining legal markets like Japan and the EU. The discussions focused attention on markets that remain open with obvious concern regarding their contribution to illegal trade and poaching. In a positive step forward, Israel noted its recent announcement on closure of its domestic markets in elephant and mammoth ivory, and Australia announced its intent to close its market. The European Union stated that they will tighten regulations.

The previous meeting of the Conference of the Parties in 2016 called on countries to close domestic ivory markets that are “contributing to poaching or illegal trade.” Some countries, notably Japan and the EU, have claimed that their markets were not known to be contributing to elephant poaching or illegal trade and have held out on taking action. Under today’s agreement, countries whose ivory markets remain open will now be requested to report on the measures they are taking to ensure that their domestic ivory markets are not contributing to poaching or illegal trade. Japan – which has a significant domestic ivory market and has been implicated in ivory trafficking to China – will be bound by this agreed decision, if affirmed by plenary next week.

A number of Parties, including several African elephant range States such as Gabon, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Nigeria Angola and Liberia, reiterated that all legal domestic ivory markets create opportunities to launder illegal ivory contributing to poaching and illegal trade.

Iris Ho, Humane Society International’s senior wildlife specialist says: “It is a welcome reassurance that the CITES Parties recognize the necessity of and urgency for any remaining significant ivory markets, such as Japan and the European Union, to shut down their ivory trade. No country should be off the hook when a growing number of countries including China, the United States, Singapore and the United Kingdom have adopted measures to restrict or ban their domestic ivory trade. We call on Japan to heed the recommendation of the CoP and close its domestic or intra-EU commercial ivory trade as soon as possible.”  

Humane Society International warmly congratulates the governments of Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria and the Syrian Arab Republic for championing this proposal, as well as all 32 countries African Elephant Coalition for advocating for closure of domestic ivory markets worldwide. The agreement reached today will now go forward to the plenary of the conference for ratification on 27/28th August.

ENDS

Media contacts:

  • At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, +1-202-360-3532 (cell/WhatsApp)
  • United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org

Humane Society International / Global

African elephant with calf
Anagramm/iStock.com
This release has been corrected.

GENEVA—The first vote at the 18th meeting of the CITES Conference of the Parties has delivered a historic win for African elephants to end the cruel practice of removing live elephants from the wild for export to captive facilities. CITES is the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Iris Ho, senior wildlife specialist for wildlife programs and policy for Humane Society International, said: “This decision will save countless elephants from being ripped away from their families in the wild and forced to spend their lifetimes imprisoned in substandard conditions at zoos. HSI applauds this decision and calls on all Parties to affirm this decision at the plenary session next week.”

CITES Parties voted to limit trade in live wild African elephants to ‘in situ’ conservation in their natural habitats, which will end the trade in live wild elephants to captivity in zoos and entertainment venues, effectively ruling them unacceptable and inappropriate destinations. (CoP18 Document 44.2)

Forty-six countries voted in favour, 18 voted against and 19 countries abstained. This achieved the 2/3 majority for the proposal to pass in committee.

Audrey Delsink, director of wildlife for Humane Society International/Africa and an elephant biologist, said, “The export of live wild elephants serves no credible conservation purpose and is opposed by numerous elephant biologists. Elephants are highly intelligent, social animals with strong family bonds. The capture of baby elephants is horribly cruel and traumatic to both the mothers, their calves and their herds that are left behind. Calves suffer psychological and physical harm when taken from their mothers. Zoos and other captive facilities force these calves to live in an unnatural, unhealthy environment that does not meet their complex needs.”

The decision applies to the elephants in Botswana and Zimbabwe* with elephant populations on Appendix II of CITES, which has an annotation that permits this trade to “appropriate and acceptable destinations.”

Zimbabwe has captured and exported more than 100 baby elephants to Chinese zoos since 2012. These calves, severely traumatized by being torn from their mothers, were subsequently abused through violent handling that included being kicked and beaten, and several have consequently died.

HSI warmly congratulates Burkina Faso, Jordan, Lebanon, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan and Syria for putting forward this important proposal, which was backed by the 32 member countries of the African Elephant Coalition.

END

Media contacts:

  • At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, +1 518-487-0975 (cell and WhatsApp)
  • United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org
*An earlier version of this news release erroneously stated that the proposal affects elephants in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The proposal applies only to Botswana and Zimbabwe.

 

 

Dulcé Café and Wiesenhof embrace global plant-based food trend and join HSI’s Green Monday South Africa movement

Humane Society International / Africa

Shawn Driman

CAPE TOWN – Dulcé Café and Wiesenhof have teamed up with Humane Society International/Africa to join the global movement towards more plant-based, sustainable food by launching three new delicious meat- and dairy-free dishes for their winter 2019 menus. The restaurant chains’ decision to introduce more plant-based food offerings was inspired by HSI/Africa’s Green Monday SA meat-reduction initiative, encouraging South Africans to eat plant-based at least one day every week to improve their health, reduce their carbon footprint, and make a positive difference to the lives of farm animals.

According to the International Food Information Council Foundation’s 2019 Food and Health Survey, one quarter of survey participants said that they eat more plant-based protein than they did 12 months ago. In another poll, which questioned 850 chefs, catering managers, business owners, and kitchen staff, vegan food was rated a top restaurant trend in 2019, as 25 percent of diners are choosing vegan and vegetarian options.

Leozette Roode, media and outreach manager for HSI/Africa, said: “With more South Africans increasing their plant-based food consumption, eating green is going mainstream. While most South Africans aren’t necessarily adopting a completely vegan lifestyle, they are reducing their consumption of animal products and noticing the health benefits alongside the positive environmental and animal welfare impacts. Retailers and restaurateurs have realised this change in consumer preferences, too, and are embracing the opportunity to put more meat- and dairy-free options on their menus. The launch of Dulcé Café and Wiesenhof’s plant-based menu options sets a great example, and HSI/Africa is pleased to have been part of its development, communication and implementation.”

Kobus Wiese, the former South African rugby union player and owner/founder of the Wiese Coffee Holdings Group, said, “Wiese Coffee Holdings cares for the health of our customers, our environment and Africa’s animals. We welcome the global trend toward plant-based foods and are thrilled to endorse Humane Society International/Africa’s Green Monday SA initiative. Throughout our operations we try to reduce our carbon and water footprint and the impact our restaurants have on the environment. Our plant-based options, which are offered on both Dulcé Café and Wiesenhof menus, include Arrabiata Mash Crepes smothered in a spicy napolitana sauce and topped with sautéed onions, mushrooms and cocktail tomatoes, a warming Lentil and Cauliflower Curry with savoury brown rice and a fresh, high-protein Lentil, Chickpea and Avocado salad that can be enjoyed as a shared side or a main. All three dishes are delicious, and we encourage our customers to order and eat the green options – especially on Green Mondays. Together, we can make a positive difference.”

Many benefits come from a greener diet. Numerous studies indicate that a diet rich in plant-based foods can help improve our health, and that people who eat fewer animal products have lower rates of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis and cancer. Our carbon footprint and water use are also greatly reduced on a plant-based diet, as farming animals requires significantly more water and produces a lot more greenhouse gasses than farming vegetables and grains. Finally, replacing meat, milk and eggs also benefits farm animals, millions of whom spend their entire lives in cages or crates where they are unable to exercise, engage in their natural behaviours and often even turn around because of lack of space.

The Green Monday menu options will be available at all Dulcé Café and Wiesenhof restaurants nationwide from 1 August 2019. Visit https://wcholdings.co.za to find the closest outlets. For more information on the Green Monday SA movement and programs implemented in South Africa, visit www.greenmondayza.org. For information on the benefits of a plant-based diet and for plant-based recipes to cook at home, visit www.greenmonday.co.za.

Photos available.

HSI/Africa: Media and Outreach Manager Leozette Roode, mobile +2771 360 1004, lroode@hsi.org

Troubling news on former giraffe stronghold shows need for global protection

Humane Society International / Global

Donna Gadomski/HSI Giraffe in Samburu National Reserve, Kenya, March 2019

WASHINGTON—Highlighting the need for global action to fight giraffes’ silent extinction, a body of scientific experts today declared giraffes in Kenya and Tanzania — called Masai giraffes — endangered.

Masai giraffes, one of nine giraffe subspecies, had long been considered a key population for the species. But today’s assessment by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature finds that these majestic animals are profoundly threatened by illegal hunting and land-use changes. The subspecies’ population has fallen by an estimated 49 percent to 51 percent in the past 30 years.

Adam Peyman, wildlife programs and operations manager for Humane Society International, said, “Masai giraffes have long had a robust wild population. An endangered assessment is an eye opener that signals the critical need for giraffe protections.”

Africa’s overall giraffe population has declined by up to 40 percent over the past 30 years. The species was assessed as “vulnerable” to extinction by the IUCN in 2016. That assessment was confirmed in 2018, and Masai giraffe now join reticulated giraffes as endangered; two other giraffe subspecies are critically endangered.

A proposal by several African nations to regulate giraffe trade will be discussed at a meeting of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, next month in Geneva. The proposal has been put forward by the Central African Republic, Chad, Kenya, Mali, Niger and Senegal, and is supported by the 32 African nation members of the African Elephant Coalition.

Tanya Sanerib, international legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said, “This shocking news about Masai giraffes is a call to action from prominent scientists. The international community needs to give giraffes the protection from exploitation that they so desperately need. We have to regulate the international giraffe trade or risk losing one of our planet’s most remarkable animals.”

While giraffe populations continue to wane, the species has become common in the wildlife trade. A Humane Society International report shows that the United States imported nearly 40,000 giraffe specimens between 2006 and 2015, in the form of hunting trophies, decoration items and knife handles, in addition to large shipments of live animals. The European Union is also a key consumer of giraffe products; online research detailed in the proposal records over 300 giraffe products for sale by sellers based in seven EU countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. The CITES listing proposal would regulate the giraffe trade for the first time.

With a recent international report having found that one million species face extinction due to human activity, it is critical to ensure that exploitation does not contribute to further declines, including that of giraffes.

END

Media contacts:

 

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.4 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

Humane Society International and its partner organizations together constitute one of the world’s largest animal protection organizations. For more than 25 years, HSI has been working for the protection of all animals through the use of science, advocacy, education and hands on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty worldwide — on the Web at hsi.org.

Humane Society International / United States

WASHINGTON—On World Giraffe Day, a coalition of conservation and animal-protection organizations will pressure the Trump administration to move forward with Endangered Species Act protection for giraffes.

In a letter to be delivered Friday, the groups document giraffes’ ongoing silent extinction. Submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity, Humane Society International, the Humane Society of the United States, International Fund for Animal Welfare and Natural Resources Defense Council, it urges the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to quickly propose protections for this rapidly declining species — a proposal that should have been made in 2018.

The letter follows a 2017 petition by the same groups to list the species under the Act. After the Fish and Wildlife Service failed to respond to the petition, several of the groups filed a lawsuit in December, prompting a response from Fish and Wildlife in April that giraffes may qualify for protection. Now the agency is undertaking a status review of the species and will propose protection if it deems that protection warranted.

“Under Endangered Species Act timelines, protection for giraffes is overdue, but slow federal action is contributing to their silent extinction,” said Adam Peyman, programs and operations manager for wildlife for Humane Society International. “We won’t give up on everyone’s favorite long-necked mammal. By next World Giraffe Day, we hope giraffes will have the protections they so desperately deserve.”

With now just under 97,000 animals, the African giraffe population has plunged nearly 40 percent in the past 30 years. The species is gravely imperiled by habitat loss and fragmentation, civil unrest and overhunting, as well as the international trade in bone carvings, skins and trophies.

“It’s shocking that there are now fewer giraffes in Africa than elephants,” said Tanya Sanerib, international legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This World Giraffe Day we’re urging the public to stand with us in calling for Endangered Species Act protection for giraffes. These majestic animals deserve to remain wild and not be turned into trophies and trinkets for U.S. consumers.”

Giraffes were assessed as “vulnerable” to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in 2016. That assessment was confirmed in 2018, along with a critically endangered assessment of two giraffe subspecies and an endangered assessment for another.

“It is clear that manmade causes are the driving force behind the alarming decline in the global population of giraffes. Ensuring swift action under the Endangered Species Act is an immediate and easily implementable first step to offering the key protections this species needs,” said Beth Allgood, U.S. director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

The public can support Endangered Species Act protection for giraffes by submitting comments.

“As giraffe numbers dwindle, we have to ask ourselves if the world needs them more galloping in the savannah or lying on someone’s floor as a rug. Giraffes are a beloved symbol of biodiversity, not trinkets or keepsakes. The clock is ticking as more and more of these animals are being killed while the administration delays its decision. If the animals are not protected under the Endangered Species Act, the Trump administration will be remembered for sitting idly by while one of the most recognizable species on the planet fades away,” said Elly Pepper, deputy director for international wildlife conservation at NRDC.

The IUCN currently recognizes one species of giraffes and nine subspecies: West African, Kordofan, Nubian, reticulated, Masai, Thornicroft’s, Rothchild’s, Angolan and South African. Legal protection is sought for the whole species. Further, parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) will consider a proposal to list giraffes under Appendix II of the Convention when they meet in August. If passed the proposal, which was submitted by the giraffe range states of Chad, Senegal, Niger, Mali and Kenya, would ensure the international trade in giraffe parts is tracked.

 

Contacts:

Tanya Sanerib, Center for Biological Diversity, (206) 379-7363, tsanerib@biologicaldiversity.org

Rodi Rosensweig, Humane Society International/The Humane Society of the United States, (203) 270-8929, rrosensweig@humanesociety.org

Rodger Correa, International Fund for Animal Welfare, (202) 834 6637, rcorrea@ifaw.org

Daniela Arellano, Natural Resources Defense Council, (310) 434-2304, darellano@nrdc.org

Humane Society International / Africa

Johannesburg – Humane Society International/Africa has reacted angrily to the news that Johannesburg zoo has purchased two new elephants to introduce to lone elephant Lammie, instead of heeding the advice of some of the world’s most respected elephant experts by releasing Lammie to the relative freedom of an awaiting rewilding sanctuary.

Video emerged yesterday of the elephants, a 21-year-old male named Ramadiba and a 19-year-old female named Mopane, who were purchased from a captive facility in the Eastern Cape. This addition of the elephants has gone ahead in defiance of a global plea to #FreeLammie, led by animal protection groups Humane Society International/Africa, the EMS Foundation, Elephant Reintegration Trust (ERT) and Ban Animal Trading (BAT) since last year. The groups called for Lammie to be allowed to live out her remaining years in the freedom of an extensive protected sanctuary with another herd of previously captive elephants, after her mate of 37 years died last year.

HSI/Africa’s Wildlife Director Audrey Delsink, said: “We are furious that instead of doing the right and honourable thing for Lammie by giving her freedom in a vast sanctuary with a new elephant herd, Johannesburg Zoo has forged ahead and brought two new elephants for Lammie to share what remains of her life in captivity. Such was their haste to acquire these elephants, they have done so without completing any of the expansion or renovation work they promised and ignored both public opinion and the pleas of some of the world’s most eminent elephant experts and conservationists. The Gauteng Legislature has also utterly failed to respect the wishes of the 301,652 petitioners who called for Lammie to be released. Johannesburg zoo claims it acted legally but the question is has it acted morally, and from Lammie’s point of view the answer is no. This decision denies Lammie, and the two new elephants, the chance of a decent, fulfilling life. This sorry episode has exposed the zoo authorities as lagging far behind global trends to close elephant zoo exhibits, something that 150 progressive, modern zoos have already done in recognition of the inescapable fact that such captivity cannot meet elephants’ complex physiological, psychological and social requirements. Johannesburg Zoo may well have acted on the right side of the law, but they have found themselves on the wrong side of history.”

The animal protection groups had stressed concern for Lammie’s mental well-being. Lammie showed signs of significant grief and trauma and it was advised that she spend her remaining years free from confinement, in an environment where she can thrive emotionally and physically with a group of elephants who would become her new family. Despite HSI/Africa, EMS, ERT and BAT’s efforts, as well as a global petition garnering 301,652 signatures, public protests outside the zoo, a formal letter signed by 13 of the world’s most eminent elephant experts and conservationists, international media coverage and hundreds of hand-written letters requesting Lammie’s freedom, the zoo refused to let Lammie go and made the unilateral decision to acquire more elephants instead.

EMS Director, Michele Pickover said, “We are gobsmacked that the City of Johannesburg continues to be so callous and uncaring on this matter. The Democratic Alliance is swimming not only against global and local public opinion but alarmingly it is ignoring all the science and everything that we know about who elephants are and their highly complex social structure, which mimics our own. Not only is this a major PR disaster for the DA, but they are also squandering ratepayers’ money on buying in these two elephants from Inkwenkwezi and keeping elephants at the zoo. South Africa needs desperately to build a more caring and respectful society, but instead it seems the politicians are hell-bent on doing the opposite.”

In January this year, when the Johannesburg Zoo announced its search for a second elephant, experts warned that bringing another elephant into captivity will simply perpetuate the cycle of exploitation, and that there will be no guarantee that the elephants will get along. The warning fell on deaf ears. In another announcement, the Johannesburg Zoo committed to the enrichment and expansion of Lammie’s enclosure. Previous observations, conducted by an independent elephant researcher had revealed that Lammie experiences minimal environmental enrichment, has little shade and insufficient water in which to bathe. To this day, no renovations have been implemented and Ramadiba and Mopane were added to the same small and inadequate enclosure that Lammie has endured for 39 years. Furthermore, the new elephants, though of captive origin, were in a free contact system and were able to roam the confines of their previous home. Now, they will be imprisoned in a half hectare enclosure and have to face new challenges such as the moat.

“This is a sad day for elephants, yet another two elephants are unnecessarily been subjected to a life of imprisonment due to the lack of ethical management choices made by Joburg Zoo.” said Brett Mitchell, Director of Elephant Reintegration Trust.

Humane Society International/Africa is urging South Africans to show their disapproval by refusing to visit Johannesburg Zoo and to support elephant conservation projects that only portray elephants in the wild by protecting their habitats and protecting them from the threats of poaching and exploitation.

 

 

Contacts:

HSI/Africa: Media and Communications Outreach Manager Leozette Roode, mobile +2771 360 1004, lroode@hsi.org

HSI/UK: Director of International Media Wendy Higgins, mobile +44 (0) 7989 972 423, whiggins@hsi.org

108 baby elephants sold by Zimbabwe to zoos overseas since 2012

Humane Society International / United Kingdom

Baby elephantsOscar Nkala

LONDON—The Zimbabwe Elephant Foundation will be joined on Friday 24th May by international NGOs, as well as actor and conservationist Dan Richardson, in a silent protest outside the Chinese Embassy against the exploitative export of wild-caught baby elephants from Zimbabwe to foreign destinations, mainly zoos in China. Humane Society International, Animal Defenders International, Action for Elephants UK and the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting will stand in solidarity with protest organiser and ZEF founder and director Mrs Nomusa Dube to shine a spotlight on the abusive practice that sees elephants as young as two years old being stolen from their mothers for lucrative export to foreign zoos.

According to trade data of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Zimbabwe has exported 108 young elephants to zoos in China and the UAE since 2012. Humane Society International has vocally opposed this trade for a number of years. Heart-breaking footage released by HSI and others has shown 14 elephant calves being kicked and beaten during the capture process in 2017 and 35 young elephants in 2019 pacing their pens in Hwange National Park, showing signs of stress and demonstrating wide-eyed, ear-splayed defensive postures as they await export to foreign lands. In 2016, Zimbabwe exported 35 baby elephants to Chinese zoos. One of the elephants died during transit or after arrival. Photos of the few surviving baby elephants, standing alone in dark, barren cells, were shocking.

These captures have sparked outrage from other African countries. In February this year, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Tourism & Wildlife, The Honourable Najib Balala remarked, “Trade in live elephants should only be for the purpose of enhancing the conservation of the species in its natural habitats (in-situ) as the only appropriate and acceptable destination.” The African Elephant Coalition, an alliance of 32 African countries, has also called for an end to the export of wild elephants to zoos and other captive facilities. And in March 2019 the People and Earth Solidarity Law Network, together with seven Zimbabwean NGOs, submitted a petition to the Zimbabwean Parliament calling for a ban on the export of young elephants and improvements to the welfare of wildlife in Zimbabwe.

Protest organiser, Nomusa Dube of the Zimbabwe Elephant Foundation said: “What China needs to understand is that not everything in Africa is for sale.”

Mrs Dube wrote an open letter to Zimbabwe’s President Mnangagwa, which reads: “Seeing the wildlife as something which can be uplifted and sold like a ripe fruit off a tree into a terrifying chasm. In the chasm lies an insatiable demand for all wildlife and her products. So huge is this demand that we could sell or kill every single living thing in Zimbabwe, it would be like one drop of water going into an ocean…Zimbabwe’s Elephants are the jewels in her crown, do not sell them.”

Claire Bass, Executive Director of Humane Society International/UK, who will speak at the event after the silent protest, said: “The capture of baby elephants from the wild for sale into a lifetime of suffering in captivity is heart breaking and shameful. Video footage shows that these young elephants are already displaying stress behaviour after being ripped away from their mothers and bonded family group, and are likely terrified. In the wild, calves remain closely bonded to their natal family groups; females never leave their families whilst males only leave their herd at 12 – 15 years of age. Such callous disregard for the physical and emotional wellbeing of these highly intelligent and socially complex animals is utterly inexcusable and casts a sordid light over both Zimbabwe and China. South Africa has banned the capture of elephants from the wild for captivity, and we urge Zimbabwe to follow suit by stopping these vile exports immediately.”

The protest takes place on Friday 24th May 1.30-3.30pm at the Chinese Embassy, 49-51 Portland Place, London. Media wishing to speak with Noma Dube or Claire Bass prior to the protest can do so by contacting Wendy Higgins at whiggins@hsi.org

ENDS

Media contacts:

HSI/UK: Director of International Media Wendy Higgins, mobile +44 (0) 7989 972 423, whiggins@hsi.org

HSI/Africa: Media and Communications Outreach Manager Leozette Roode, mobile +2771 360 1004, lroode@hsi.org

Notes:

  • In collaboration with the AEC, Humane Society International co-authored a report highlighting the challenges that the live trade in elephants poses to the CITES regulations.
  • In January 2018, Humane Society International/Africa and 33 partners, submitted a letter to Zimbabwe’s new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, pleading for a halt to the horrific abuse and practice of capturing elephants from the wild for captivity.

Two lion cubs with neurological condition confiscated, others suffering severe mange

Humane Society International / Africa

CAPE TOWN—Shocking photos from an anonymous source have revealed severely neglected lions covered in mange at a captive breeding facility in the North West Province of South Africa, providing a shocking insight into an industry that breeds an estimated 12,000 lions on approximately 200 farms across the country. Lion breeding farms in South Africa are part of what campaigners Humane Society International/Africa call the “snuggle scam” because they supply lion cub petting tourist attractions where visitors from around the world take selfies, oblivious to the suffering behind their holiday photos.

Upon investigation of the facility at Pienika Farm, officers at the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals entered the property on the 11th April and discovered 108 neglected lions, as well as caracal, tigers, and leopards living in horrendous conditions. Humane Society International/Africa, which calls for an end to the captive lion breeding industry, praised NSPCA inspectors for their swift action.

The NSPCA’s senior inspector Douglas Wolhuter detailed how two lion cubs appeared to be suffering from a neurological condition and were found unable to walk. The cubs were confiscated for assessment and veterinary treatment by a specialist carnivore veterinarian. Wolhuter stated that, “Other issues such as small enclosures and inadequate shelter, no provision of water, overcrowding, and filthy and parasitic conditions were noted in the camps that contained the lions, caracals, tigers, and leopards. Twenty-seven of the lions had mange and the caracals were obese and unable to properly groom themselves.”

Photos of the lions show the animals almost entirely bald due to acute mange and poor, overcrowded living conditions.

Audrey Delsink, Wildlife Director of HSI/Africa, says: “South Africa’s captive lion breeding industry is a vicious cycle of exploitation, from cradle to grave. Lion cubs are ripped from their mothers at just a few days old, to be hand-reared by paying volunteers from countries around the world such as the United Kingdom, who are misled into believing the cubs are orphans. The cubs are exploited their whole lives, first as props by paying tourists looking for selfie shots whilst petting or bottle-feeding the animals, then later as part of “walking with lion” safaris. Once too big and dangerous for these activities, these lions are then killed for their bones which are exported to Asia for traditional medicines, or sold to be killed by trophy hunters largely from the United States in “canned” hunts in which hand-reared lions are shot in a fenced area from which they cannot escape.

As well as being barbaric and heartless, a lion colloquium (parliamentary conference) in August last year revealed that the captive breeding of lions is poorly regulated and fraught with welfare and ethical concerns. There is no better evidence of that than the atrocities discovered at the Pienika Farm.”

According to an article released on 4th May 2019, Pienika Farm is allegedly owned by South African Predator Association member and councilman, Mr Jan Steinman. SAPA has for years strongly supported South Africa’s captive lion breeding industry, and at the Portfolio Committee of Environmental Affairs during the Colloquium on the Captive Breeding of Lions in August 2018, SAPA President, Mr Kirsten Nematandani claimed that “SAPA sets very high standards for [its] members” and assured the PCEA that it had “implemented SAPA’s Norms and Standards [N&S] for Breeding and Hunting to make sure everything is above board”. And yet it would appear that one of SAPA’s own members could be in breach of several SAPA regulations including those regarding animal welfare, lion husbandry, minimum enclosure size, and the trade of lion products.

The NSPCA laid charges of contravention to the Animals Protections Act 71 of 1962 against Mr Steinman on May 2nd.

Karen Trendler, Manager NSPCA Wildlife Trade & Trafficking Portfolio, says: “The very fact that SAPA has included the word “undue” in its version of the Five Freedoms, an internationally accepted set of animal welfare guidelines, basically suggests that SAPA believes there are justifiable times for an animal to be hungry or thirsty, or suffer from fear, pain or disease, which is totally unacceptable in terms of animal welfare.”

The South African government sanctions the captive lion breeding industry and has established a quota for the international lion bone trade, despite growing global outrage.  A recent exposé by former Conservative Peer Lord Ashcroft of the United Kingdom revealed serious non-compliance issues regarding permitting and restricted activities (activities prohibited by provincial and national law) at South African breeding facilities, including alleged illegal “green-hunts” (where animals are darted with an immobilising agent as opposed to live ammunition) of lions, cross breeding of lions and tigers to produce larger offspring (ligers and tigons), and even plots to illegally export lion skins hidden in deer skin hides.

South Africa is a popular tourist destination that welcomed approximately 10.3 million foreign tourists and facilitated 17.2 million domestic tourism trips in 2017 (South Africa Tourism Report 2017). Most tourists come from North America, South and Central America, and Europe.

Audrey Delsink, HSI/Wildlife Director said “In the face of so much evidence supporting the significant welfare atrocities and illegal activities, and the bogus standards presented by the industry, the South African government cannot stand idle. We demand that the government shut down this industry once and for all; that is the only way brand South Africa can recover from this significant scourge.”

The eventual fate of the lions is uncertain and will depend on the outcome of the legal process. Even if the NSPCA is able to prove that the neglect was so severe as to justify confiscation of all the lions, there are no reputable facilities in South Africa able to immediately take in such a large number of lions.

Delsink says: “Caring for big cats requires really specialist expertise and facilities, as well as sufficient space. These animals can’t just be released into the wild as they’ve been captive bred and have no idea how to survive, plus if they are as sick as they appear, they’ll need veterinary treatment. There is sadly no quick fix to rehome more than 100 lions all at once. It’s an extremely sad situation, with these lions the innocent victims.” 

Take action by signing our petition and request the South African government’s conservation authority to shut down captive breeding of predators. The horrors at Pienika Farm demonstrate that the provincial authorities are failing to regulate this industry in any way.

Key facts:

  • With fewer than 3,000 wild lions, South Africa has more lions languishing in captivity than in the wild.
  • Between 6,000 and 8,000 lions are bred in captivity in some 260 facilities across South Africa, marketed to tourists as lion interaction experiences.
  • In its 2015 Biodiversity Management Plan, the government of South Africa stated “captive lions are bred exclusively to generate money.”
  • In the wild, lion cubs remain with their mothers for 18 months, and females rest for at least 15-24 months between litters. Cubs born on breeding farms are taken from their mothers when they are a few days or even hours old to be used as living photo props. The removal of cubs forces the mother into an exhausting and continuous breeding cycle while incarcerated in enclosures, sometimes without adequate food, hygiene, or the ability to express their natural behaviours.
  • Lions are a threatened species, listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). While the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) prohibits the trade of bones from wild lions, it does allow South Africa to export bones from captive ones.
  • It is impossible to differentiate body parts from wild vs. captive lions, so the legal export of captive lion bones facilitates the illegal export of wild lion bones.
  • Learn more about HSI’s lion exploitation campaign here: https://www.hsi.org/issues/wildlife-trade/
  • Take the Don’t Buy Wild Pledge to avoid buying items or experiences that compromise the welfare of wild animals. Leave souvenirs like ivory trinkets and exotic leathers, attractions that keep animals’ captive in inhumane conditions, or exotic pets for sale off your travel itinerary.

 

NEWSROOM: https://newsroom.humanesociety.org/fetcher/index.php?searchMerlin=1&searchBrightcove=1&submitted=1&mw=d&q=CaptiveLions0519

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Media contacts:

  • Humane Society International – Africa: Social Media and Communications manager, Leozette Roode, lroode@hsi.org
  • HSI/UK: Director of International Media Wendy Higgins, mobile +44 (0) 7989 972 423, whiggins@hsi.org

Read a blog entry about this by HSUS President & CEO Kitty Block.

Humane Society International / United States

WASHINGTON—After a prod from a lawsuit filed by conservation groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that giraffes may qualify for protection under America’s Endangered Species Act.

The 2018 lawsuit — brought by the Center for Biological Diversity, Humane Society International, Humane Society of the United States, and the Natural Resources Defense Council — seeks a response to their April 2017 legal petition for Endangered Species Act protection for giraffes. The species is gravely imperiled by habitat loss and fragmentation, civil unrest and overhunting, as well as the international trade in bone carvings, skins, and trophies.

The United States provides a large market for giraffe parts: More than 21,400 bone carvings, 3,000 skin pieces and 3,700 hunting trophies were imported over the past decade. Limiting U.S. import and trade would give giraffes important protections, and an ESA listing would also help provide critical funding for conservation work in Africa.

“The U.S. on average imports more than one giraffe trophy a day, and thousands of giraffe parts are sold domestically each year,” said Anna Frostic, attorney for the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International. “The federal government must now expeditiously take stock of the role we are playing in giraffe decline and how we can work to instead save these unique animals.”

Africa’s giraffe population has plunged nearly 40 percent in the past 30 years. It now stands at just over 97,000 individuals.

“This is a big step toward protecting giraffes from the growing use of their bones by U.S. gun and knife makers,” said Tanya Sanerib, international legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s disgusting that it took a lawsuit to prompt the Trump administration to act. Saving everyone’s favorite long-necked animal from extinction should have been the easiest call in the world.”

With fewer giraffes than elephants left in Africa, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature elevated the threat level to giraffes from “least concern” to “vulnerable” on its “Red List of Threatened Species” in 2016. That finding was confirmed in 2018 along with a critically endangered assessment of two giraffe subspecies and an endangered assessment for another.

“The United States has long been complicit in the trade of giraffe parts, so it’s time for the federal government to stick its neck out for this species,” said Elly Pepper with NRDC. “The United States has taken action to help staunch the trade of numerous species in trouble. Sadly, now it is time to take action to ensure giraffes remain on the planet. They need Endangered Species Act protections and they need them now.”

Known for their six-foot-long necks, distinctive patterning and long eyelashes, giraffes have captured the human imagination for centuries. New research recently revealed that they live in complex societies, much like elephants, and have unique physiological traits, including the highest blood pressure of any land mammal.

The IUCN currently recognizes one species of giraffes and nine subspecies: West African, Kordofan, Nubian, reticulated, Masai, Thornicroft’s, Rothchild’s, Angolan and South African. The legal petition seeks an endangered listing for the whole species.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has 12 months to decide whether Endangered Species Act listing is warranted.

For photos/video of the HSUS/HSI 2018 undercover investigation into the sale of giraffe parts CLICK HERE.

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