Great News: Keeping Elephants at Zoos or Safari Parks to Be Banned!
Keeping elephants at zoos or safari parks in the UK is to be banned – a huge victory for these highly intelligent and sensitive individuals.
The new legislation – which will be introduced as part of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill later this year – will ban the importation of elephants, saving future generations from suffering in unnatural conditions.
Elephants – or any other animal – are not ours to use for entertainment, and we fully support this move.
Why It’s Cruel to Keep Elephants in Captivity
After going through numerous lockdowns since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we can relate to what animals go through when they’re denied the freedom to do what’s natural to them. Elephants are highly social animals who, in nature, spend their entire lives with their families. They walk up to 30 miles a day to forage for food, work together to solve problems, and rely on the wisdom, judgement, and experience of their eldest relatives. Zoos and safari parks cannot meet their complex needs.
© Jo-Anne McArthur / Zoocheck
In addition to suffering from poor mental health, elephants in captivity often experience much worse physical health than elephants in their natural habitats – arthritis, hernias, and malnutrition are just a few examples.
And while elephants in nature can reach the age of 50, captive elephants typically live for just 17 years – a huge difference, right?
All forms of entertainment using animals are cruel – including wild animal circuses and elephant rides.
How You Can Help Other Elephants
Mali, the lone elephant at the Manila Zoo, was taken from Sri Lanka in 1974 and has spent her life inside a small, concrete pen.
But even though PETA Asia has offered to cover the entire cost of the transfer, authorities are stalling PETA’s efforts to facilitate Mali’s move to a sanctuary.
Please write to the ambassador of the Philippines in the UK and urge him to do all he can to help get her moved to a sanctuary:
