Act Now to Stop Them

IDA joins with 75 leading scientists, conservationists, elephant welfare experts and policy makers, united in opposition and outrage at the proposed import of 18 elephants from Swaziland destined for 3 US zoos. Dallas Zoo in Texas, Henry Doorly Zoo in Nebraska, and Sedgewick County Zoo in Kansas have import permits currently pending approval with the US Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS). The zoos’ request for a permit to import these elephants has just been published in the U.S. Federal Register and is now open to public comment. The deadline for our voices to be heard is November 23rd 2015!

The unsubstantiated reasons given for the import? Degraded landscape due to elephant foraging, unprecedented drought conditions, and not enough land for both the elephants and critically endangered rhinos. According to Big Game Parks Trust in Swaziland, the elephants need to either be exported or “culled” (aka murdered) as a solution, yet there is NO EVIDENCE that attempts were made to keep the African elephants in Africa, where they belong.The only real justification for this import is the PROFIT to be made by the Big Game Trust and the three US zoos. If the welfare of these elephants was truly a priority and these problems were real, they would be relocated WITHIN AFRICA, not sold and shipped into US incarceration.

This is another greedy business hustle cleverly sold and marketed as a heroic rescue mission. With captive breeding programs failing, and an infant mortality rate of 40% in captivity, zoos will continue kidnapping calves from the wild to restock their elephant exhibits, as long as zoo-goers will pay to see them on display.This scenario is eerily reminiscent of the dolphins captivity industry claiming to be “saving” dolphins from the horrific Taiji dolphin massacres. Dolphinaria argued that they “rescued” the dolphins they purchased from imminent death in the Taiji dolphin massacres. It took efforts like the movie, “The Cove”, to expose that the captivity industry was actually directly and financially SUPPORTING the dolphin hunts with the money they were paying to the dolphin killers. Don’t let this audacious and brutal trend become acceptable with elephants!

More Resources:
Read the United Ele Front letter here.

Learn more here about the import with these FAQ’s assembled by Dr. Joyce Poole, Catherine Doyle, other elephant experts.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

First: POST A COMMENT on the U.S Fish and Wildlife Services notice for permit approval. Take advantage of the open comment period NOW until November 23rd. The elephants need your voice! On its comments page, FWS lists two alternatives to granting the full permits to the zoos. 1-It can deny the permits and allow the elephants to be killed or 2-It can issue permits for a reduced number of elephants to be imported to the zoos

Suggestions for your brief comment:

Subject: Support of a third alternative to DENY THE Swaziland PERMIT to the zoos and RELOCATE the elephants IN AFRICA where they belong.

Points you can make:

• African elephants belong in Africa, not in US zoos. If the welfare of these elephants is truly a priority, they should be relocated to a reserve IN AFRICA
• In captivity elephants are afflicted with conditions, diseases and behavioral problems that are unheard of in the wild. This does not contribute to conservation.
• We don’t buy the “culling of elephants” argument. Killing elephants for conservation and habitat management is an archaic and out-dated practice. Non-lethal solutions to managing elephant populations are available and widely used if truly deemed necessary.
• The ‘zoo or die’ threat from Swaziland combined with the “heroic rescue mission” story of the US zoos is a terrible lie being sold. Everyone involved will profit at the expense of these poor elephants. Please do not let this happen.
• Stealing elephants from their homes and families to be put for their entire miserable lives on public display for greed must stop now. Please deny the permit and help support a humane and ethical solution.

To post your comment to Fish and Wildlife Services go to:

http://www.regulations.gov

Copy and paste or type in:

FWS-HQ-IA-2015-0157-0001

On the next page, click on the blue rectangular”Comment Now” box to write (or copy and paste our points above) and send your message.

Second: Please share widely! AFRICAN ELEPHANTS BELONG IN AFRICA

Public Service Announcement with international elephant experts here.

Third: Stay apprised by visiting this page, “The Big Rumble” and take action as announced

Thank you for your great support, as every comment, and every phone call, can help keep these elephants in Africa where they belong.

Please stay tuned for more updates.