Johannesburg Zoo ignores calls to free Lammie the Lonely Elephant

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Lisbeth
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Johannesburg Zoo ignores calls to free Lammie the Lonely Elephant

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BY LOUZEL LOMBARD STEYN - 1 NOVEMBER 2018 - THE SOUTH AFRICAN

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Lonely Lammie

This is despite animal welfare specialists’ renewed calls on The Johannesburg City Council to relocate the grieving elephant from the zoo to a free-roaming area after the recent death of her partner Kinkel.

The National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA), Ban Animal Trading, EMS Foundation and Humane Society International – Africa have rejected the zoo’s plans to introduce another elephant as this would necessitate breaking up a bonded group with associated trauma and merely introduce another elephant to a sterile existence in the zoo.

Some of the groups are negotiating with the zoo to have Lammie reintroduced into the wild at a reserve where a herd of previously-captive elephants roam freely. There are currently two possible locations for Lammie to go, both have been successful in rewilding captive elephants.

The EMS Foundation has offered to cover all the costs for Lammie’s relocation.

According to the NSPCA Wildlife Protection Unit Inspector Irinka Schröder, “the NSPCA would support this initiative,” provided all welfare concerns are adequately addressed. “What we do not support is for the zoo to break up a captive herd in order to provide Lammie with a companion and just perpetuate the issue,” Schröder says.

However the zoo says it has no intention of releasing Lammie, instead, Joburg Zoo general manager Tshepang Makganye stated that they are looking to introduce another elephant cow to the zoo. The Zoo has not provided the additional enrichments for Lammie, which they promised to do after Kinkel’s death.

A global petition to free Lammie has acquired more than 100 000 signatures and a program of peaceful demonstrations will continue at the zoo premises, with BAN Animal Trading (BAT) stating, “there will be more protesting” in the weeks to come. BAT has also called on members of the public to join in the cause by writing to the Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba asking him to agree to relocate Lammie.

Zero educational or conservation value

Makganye states that the Zoo is against Lammie’s relocation as “educating the less privileged to understand our natural heritage [is]part of saving the elephant population from being killed.” It is however unclear how keeping one animal in captivity will save any wild elephants.

Elephant specialists, however, disagree with Makganye. “Watching a lone, depressed elephant in a barren enclosure does nothing to educate people that do not have access to a game reserve. Keeping an elephant like Lammie in a captive zoo facility does nothing to promote South Africa in the light it should – as a progressive conservation authority,” says elephant specialist Dr Marion Garaï.

Michele Pickover from the EMS Foundation agrees, saying: “It teaches people the opposite of what it means to respect wildlife. It teaches people that it is acceptable to cage wildlife for amusement.”

While there is no conservation value to captive elephants, there are notable welfare issues including shorter life spans and being more disease-prone in captivity. According to the zoo, Kinkel had been suffering from colic for almost 10 years before dying suddenly in September this year.

Further concerns over general animal welfare at the zoo have been raised. Commenting after a demonstration this past weekend, BAT director Smaragda Louw said they were shocked to witness how the animals were treated with total indifference.

“During the four hours we were sitting in front of Lammie’s enclosure, nobody bothered to check in on her or any of the other animals in nearby enclosures. Anybody can just walk into the zoo and harass or harm the animals as they like.

“At 8 o’clock, when the zoo had already closed to the public, no-one showed up to see how Lammie was doing or check that all visitors had left.”

All of the elephants Lammie has known in her lifetime have died in captivity. Her parents, Dolly and Jumbo, were caught in the wild and moved into captivity in the 1970s where they died. Lammie’s brother, born in captivity, also died shortly after being sold to a zoo in France.

Elephants are sentient creatures that thrive in large family structures with very strong social bonds. The death of an individual can have a large impact on elephant family members.

Read original article: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/johanne ... lephant-2/


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Re: Johannesburg Zoo ignores calls to free Lammie the Lonely Elephant

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WorldElephantDay horror: Video shows traumatised elephants at Joburg Zoo

BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN - 15TH AUGUST 2019 - LOUZEL LOMBARD STEYN -

Lammie’s 40th birthday celebrations and World Elephant Day at Johannesburg Zoo were marred by scenes of highly stressed elephants.

In a viral video shared online, Lammie is seen running out of her dark quarters, clearly confused and traumatized. The two other elephants behind bars also react in alarm, much to the misguided delight of the screaming onlookers.



The Zoo’s two new elephants, a 22-year-old male named Ramadiba and a 19-year-old female named Mopani are still kept separate from Lammie. Zoo spokesperson Jenny Moodley confirmed to Beeld that Lammie has been kept separate from the newcomers and only been allowed to interact with them through fences for small periods at a time.

On World Elephant Day, Mopani was made to do tricks to entertain the crowds of visitors bussed in for the occasion.

Photos show her having to lie down, then roll over in front of the media. She was also made to stand on her knees several times. The two newcomers were initially caught in the wild by EFAF as calves and trained to perform stunts for the elephant tourism industry.

Brett Mitchell, elephant behavioural expert and chairperson of the Elephant Reintegration Trust (ERT) says the Zoo’s cruel experiment is typical of a facility that’s only keeping elephants for the sake of entertainment and economic gain.

“The elephants’ behaviour indicates they were under immense stress.” Heavy temporal streaming, running with head and tail up and foot-swinging are typical signs of distress and separation anxiety in elephants. “Lammie is seen spinning, dribbling urine and kicking the ground as soon as she is released back into the enclosure on her own. From the other two elephants, there is loud bellowing while they buckle their hind legs – a typical sign of stress,” Mitchell says.

“If the Zoo had any respect for elephants, especially on World Elephant Day, they would not have created an entertainment program for people which negatively affects the very animals they claim to look after,” Mitchell says. “The Zoo once again shows their complete lack of morality and has no concern for their elephants’ welfare.”

Furthermore, he says, the children visiting the zoo “did not learn anything besides that it’s okay to lock up elephants, stress them out and provoke them for the sake of human entertainment.”

DA Shadow Minister of the Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) spokesperson James Lorimer says its “extremely distasteful and wrong.

“How do you get to a situation where you have zoo animals doing tricks, and for whom? Zoos are supposed to be about education, and teaching people about the importance of wildlife, and this does not aid that understanding,” he says.

According to Zoo spokesperson Jenny Moodley, the elephants enjoyed the interaction.

“The two new elephants that came from a sanctuary were trained to respond to groups of people at the sanctuary that they were based at,” she says. “Yesterday was no different with Mopani showing off her training.”

The two new elephants were held in a small fenced enclosure throughout the day where the circus tricks were performed.

Audrey Delsink, Humane Society International (HSI) Africa Wildlife Director and elephant biologist says the Zoo’s actions are “shocking, but not surprising. Once again, this shows that entertainment trumps while the elephants’ welfare is pushed aside.

“The increased noise and disturbance as well as the children’s misplaced shouts of delight clearly exacerbated the situation and elevated the elephant’s stress,” Delsink says. “We are extremely concerned about the elephants’ safety and well-being.”

This latest incident follows a public outcry against the keeping Lammie in the Zoo and the introduction of two new elephants.

UPDATE: Joburg Zoo sues animal rights organisations over World Elephant Day drama

The Johannesburg Zoo is suing Ban Animal Trading (BAT) and the National Council of SPCAs for criticizing their World Elephant Day ‘celebrations’ and for sharing footage of the zoo’s traumatized elephants online.

BAT’s video showed the bewildered and visibly traumatised elephants in front of scores of excited visitors. It has been viewed more than 38 000 times on Facebook.

Photos also show one elephant performing tricks in front of the press while Lammie was kept locked away from the media for hours.

However making elephants perform tricks directly contravenes the zoo’s updated elephant management plan.

Joburg Zoo says the posts are defamatory. The lawyers’ letter to BAT demands that they be withdrawn and an apology be issued. The NSPCA confirms they’ve received similar legal documents.

BAT shared the lawyers’ letter online, saying “Free the Johannesburg Zoo Elephants!” They say it’s concerning that the zoo would use taxpayers’ money to sue Non-Profit Organisations working in the interest of animals.

The Zoo was previously criticized for squandering public funds when they paid almost R1 million more than the market rate for its two new elephants.

Image and Video Credit: Smaragda Louw


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Re: Johannesburg Zoo ignores calls to free Lammie the Lonely Elephant

Post by Lisbeth »

DISGRACEFUL :evil:


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Re: Johannesburg Zoo ignores calls to free Lammie the Lonely Elephant

Post by Peter Betts »

BAN ALL ZOOS AND CIRCUSES ..Let John Varty buy them for R1 million


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