Ending their exploitation is why our work began nearly 40 years ago, so this news is deeply poignant and significant for our charity.”Īccording to the RSPCA’s Live hard, die young - how elephants suffer in zoos report, elephants in captivity are plagued by debilitating conditions including arthritis due to lack of exercise and live just 15 or 16 years on average for Asian and African elephants respectively, compared to 50 years in the wild.
Will Travers OBE, president of the charity Born Free - which has been campaigning against the keeping of elephants in zoos for decades - was reported by Totally Vegan Buzz as saying: “The complex needs of this exceptionally intelligent, sensitive and social species can never be met in a zoo – captive elephants can suffer physically and psychologically. The insider’s comments also resonate strongly with testimony from animal welfare groups that elephants suffer terribly in captivity, both physically and mentally. While the bill does not mention elephants specifically, Schedule Five (Zoos) will enact a number of important amendments to the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 including more stringent regulation and inspections by veterinary surgeons and specialists, ensuring that zoos are actually contributing to conservation efforts and an increase in penalties for certain offences. One of the bills that forms part of the plan is indeed an Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, sponsored by George Eustice and Defra and now in its second reading, that includes provisions for reviewing standards at UK zoos, as well as paving the way for a ban on live exports, puppy smuggling and the keeping of primates as companion animals. We also know that a new ‘action plan for animal welfare’ is on the way, based on recent announcements from the Conservative government. We know that zoos are not fit for purpose, and the rumour that started this whole story off is that the report will say the same. What we do know is that the government is sufficiently concerned about elephant welfare to have convened a committee of academics, conservationists and zoo inspectors tasked with, among other things, reviewing and issuing recommendations based on the upcoming decade-long report into how well zoos are able to provide for their needs. It is very possible that the senior source could be Goldsmith himself, or it could equally be any one of several key figures at Defra. Read: London Zoo is in trouble… should we let it fail? "It's very likely we are going to say you can't make elephants happy in zoos, we should instead be focusing on elephant conservation in areas that have elephants.
It's impossible to keep them in conditions where they are happy, the space is too small,” the source told the Daily Mail. "Once the current load of elephants die out we will say you can't replace them. The apparent senior insider was speculating on the outcome of the 10-year report by the UK Elephant Welfare Group, to be examined by the UK’s Zoos Expert Committee following its submission to Defra later this year. The press being what it is, the story was picked up and repeated by the Metro, Sun and at least one vegan media outlet all with headlines that make no mention of the uncertainty of the source, but with text that was subsequently updated to include Goldsmith’s clarification.
Environment minister Zac Goldsmith, thought to be one of the driving forces behind zoo reforms concerning elephants and a key figure at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, told the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) that “Defra has no plans to ban the keeping of elephants in UK zoos" and that while a report on elephant welfare was expected, he did not know “what the recommendations are likely to be”. Sadly, the story is to a degree only hearsay. Last month, the Daily Mail appeared to break a story about an upcoming ban on keeping elephants in zoos in the UK, bringing together several elements including comments from an ‘inside source’ about a 10-year report into elephant welfare expected later this year, and the fact that a new Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill is now through to its second reading in the House of Commons. Unfortunately, following clarification from environment minister Zac Goldsmith, Defra has no such plans, yet ‘inside sources’ have hinted at growing concern within the government about zoos with a report on elephant welfare imminent.
News recently broke of draft legislation that would ban the keeping of elephants in UK zoos.