PREN NETWORK SUPPORTS THE ASIA FOR ANIMALS COLLATION’S APPEAL TO CEASE THE USE OF ELEPHANTS IN THE DAM SEN CIRCUS, VIETNAM

The Asia for Animals Coalition in collaboration with Animals Asia have appealed against the cruel use of animals in Vietnam’s circuses for years.  Investigators have recently discovered that Dam Sen Circus has gone back on their word almost a year ago to stop using macaques in performances and again are using them and a host of other animals in their shows.  Therefore, we are writing to them again to ask them to cease these cruel activities.

A COPY OF THE LETTER, ADDRESSED TO: 

Mr Nguyen Quoc Anh

General Director
Phu Tho Tourist Service Joint Stock Company Number 15 Road 2
Lu Gia Plaza Building
Ward 15, District 11,
Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam

Re: The continued use of wild animals in Dam Sen circus

Dear Mr Nguyen Quoc Anh,

25th March, 2020

We are writing on behalf of the ​Asia for Animals Coalition​, representing international animal welfare and conservation organizations. We express our deep concern with regards to the continued use of wild animals within the animal circus at the Dam Sen Tourist Park in Ho Chi Minh City.

Our investigations have revealed that Dam Sen Tourist Park is again using macaques and pythons, together with some other animals, after nearly one year of not using wild animals in their circus performances.

This decision goes against the global trend of a dismissal of animal circuses, where over 57 countries and regions have issued a complete or partial ban of all animals for circus performances.1 Within Vietnamese communities, there are more and more people speaking up for animals and expressing their opposition to animal performances.

We believe that continuing the animal circus performances will have negative impacts on Dam Sen Tourist Park’s reputation. In addition, Dam Sen is registering to become a member of the South

According to data from Animal Defenders International updated to January 2020 East Asian Zoos and Aquariums Association, whose policy does not accept the use of wild animals in circuses.

Scientists warn that wildlife can transmit diseases to humans. In light of the increasing spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), I am sure you will agree that your performing wild animals currently pose a threat of disease transmission to the trainers, performers and audiences of the shows.

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PREN LETTER TO IATA REGARDING LIVE ELEPHANT EXPORT

February 13, 2020

Mr. Alexandre de Juniac Director General and CEO dejuniaca@iata.org

Mrs. Andrea Gruber Head, Special Cargo  grubera@iata.org

800 Place Victoria PO Box 113 Montreal – H4Z 1M1 Quebec – Canada

33, Route de l’Aeroport PO Box 416
1215 Geneva – 15 Airport Switzerland

CITES Decision Regarding Transport of African elephants from Zimbabwe and Botswana

Dear Mr. de Juniac and Mrs. Gruber:

We write to inform you of a decision adopted by the parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) restricting the transport of live, wild caught elephants from Zimbabwe and Botswana soley to countries within the species natural and historical range in Africa, with limited exceptions. We respectfully request that the International Air Transport Association (IATA):

(1) update the 46 edition of its Live Animal Regulations accordingly with an addendum, and revise any other relevant rules, guidance and standards; and

(2) inform its members and strategic partners, including exporters, importers, transport companies and carriers, of this decision as appropriate.

CITES regulates international trade in endangered and threatened animals and plants through the listing of species on one of three Appendices. African elephants in Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, and Botswana are listed on CITES Appendix II, which limits trade to avoid uses that are incompatible with species’ survival. The listing of elephants in Zimbabwe and Botswana includes an annotation(1) allowing live elephants to be exported to “appropriate and acceptable

1 Annotations define which commodities are covered by the listing or are excluded from it.

destinations.” Pursuant to this annotation, Zimbabwe has captured live baby elephants from the wild and exported to zoos and entertainment facilities in China and elsewhere (2)

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PREN LETTER TO SAUDI AIRLINES CARGO REGARDING EXPORT OF ELEPHANTS FROM ZIMBABWE

February 13, 2020

Mr. Sami Bin Ali Sindi Director General samibinalisindi@saudia.com

Dr. Ghassan bin Abdulrahman Al-Shebl Chairman, Board of Directors ghassanbinabdulrahmanalshebl@saudia.com

Mr. Jaan Albrecht Chief Executive Officer jaanalbrecht@saudia.com

Mr. Per Hojland Executive Director, Cargo Operations perhojland@saudia.com

Mr. Rainer Mueller Regional Director rainermueller@saudia.com

SAUDIA AIRLINES P.O. BOX 620
JEDDAH 21231 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Saudia City, Al Rawdah Street, Al Khalidiah District JEDDAH 23421- 2229
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Saleh N. Al-Jasser
Minister of Transport
Riyadh, King AbdulAziz road P.O. Box 12628
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  PRTMINISTER@MOT.GOV.S

CITES DECISION REGARDING TRANSPORT OF AFRICAN ELEPHANTS FROM ZIMBABWE AND BOTSWANA

Dear Mr. Sindi, Dr. Al-Shebl, Mr. Albrecht, Mr. Hojland, Mr. Mueller, and Mr. Al-Jasser:

On October 24, 2019 SAUDI Airlines, via its subsidiary, SAUDIA Cargo, shipped 32 live, wild-caught African elephants from Victoria Falls Airport in Zimbabwe (1) to China on flight number SV3049 (2). We write to inform you of a decision approved by the parties to the

(1) Roland Oliphant, Young elephants flown out of Zimbabwe after being ‘secretly’ removed from national park, The Telegraph, Oct. 24, 2019. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/24/young-elephants-flown-zimbabwe-secretly- removed-national-park/

(2) Zim Baby Elephants: from the comfort of the jungle to ‘steel prisons’ in China, The Standard, Nov. 10, 2019. Available at: https://www.thestandard.co.zw/2019/11/10/zim-baby-elephants- comfort-jungle-steel-prisons-china/

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) that restricts future shipments of this nature. Specifically, the transport of live, wild-caught elephants from Zimbabwe and Botswana is now limited solely to countries within the species’ natural and historical range in Africa, with certain narrow exceptions. We respectfully request that SAUDIS Airlines adopt a policy consistent with the CITES decision, which at a minimum prohibits the shipment of live, wild-caught African elephants to countries outside the species’ natural and historical range. Such a policy could include narrow exceptions when such transfer will provide demonstrable in-situ conservation benefits for African elephants, or in the case of temporary transfer in emergencies as determined by the CITES Secretariat.

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ELEPHANTS PLAYING POLO IN NEPAL

23RD DECEMBER 2019

AN OPEN LETTER ADDRESSED TO: 

Honorable Prime Minister Mr K P Sharma Oli

Director General Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Gopal Prakash Bhattarai

Honourable Minister of Forests and Environment Shakti Bahadur Basnet

Honourable Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai 

Nepal Tourism Board 

NEPAL ELEPHANT POLO TOURNAMENT

Recent news about the organization of an Elephant polo tournament in Nepal has drawn our attention and concern. The undersigned international Elephant experts representing various fields respectfully ask that you stop this year’s Elephant Polo event and ensure such activities will be discontinued in the future. The reasons for our concerns are as follows:

Background

Indian Rulers (Aristocrats) and Western colonists established Elephant Polo in the early 20th century as a form of entertainment. The game was introduced in Nepal in 1982 as a way to increase tourism. In the game, nine Elephants (4 from one side, 4 from another side, and one referee), are each ridden by a mahout and a player. The mahout forces the Elephant to run after the ball, threatening pain and punishment if the Elephant does not respond accordingly.

Elephant Polo has been permanently discontinued in Thailand and Sri Lanka following exposure of abusive treatment prior to and during the event. The official Elephant Polo games held in Nepal and hosted by Tiger Tops were discontinued in 2017.

In December 2018 an Elephant polo tournament was held in Sauraha, drawing international criticism and exposing the abusive treatment of the Elephants. Despite this, the Elephant owners are now contemplating another Elephant Polo game.

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THE LIVE ELEPHANT TRADE BETWEEN ZIMBABWE AND CHINA

PRESS RELEASE NOVEMBER 22ND 2019

As elephant specialists who are world-renowned, well-published authorities on elephant behaviour, sociality, welfare, care, and conservation, we are extremely disturbed by the actions of Zimbabwe and China with regard to live elephant trade.

At the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) 18th Conference of the Parties (CoP18) held in Geneva in August this year, Parties overwhelmingly decided that the only ’Appropriate and Acceptable destination’ for live elephants exported from Zimbabwe or Botswana should be:

in-situ conservation programmes or secure areas in the wild, within the species’ natural and historical range in Africa, except in exceptional circumstances where, in consultation with the Animals Committee, through its Chair with the support of the Secretariat, and in consultation with the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group, it is considered that a transfer to ex-situ locations will provide demonstrable in-situ conservation benefits for African elephants, or in the case of temporary transfer in emergency situations.”

These amendments (Resolution. Conf. 11.20 (or Rev. CoP17) will come into effect at the end of November 2019, bringing the rules that apply to Zimbabwe and Botswana in line with other countries.

The resolution notwithstanding, in October 2019, the Zimbabwe government exported more than 30 wild-caught elephant calves that had been forcibly taken from their mothers and families over a year ago.

The operation involved elephant herds being chased to exhaustion with helicopters in Hwange National Park, with calves as young as 2-3 year-old forcibly separated from their families, captured and put into a nearby holding pen where they were kept for many months.

Despite the clear message from the international community through the CITES Resolution that such exports should end, the 32 calves were loaded onto a Saudia Cargo flight and exported via Riyadh to Shanghai, China, on 24 October 2019.

The elephants are now held in an undisclosed quarantine facility and, like previously imported calves, will most likely be sent to various facilities around the country, where they will be on display for entertainment making a total of at least 141 wild-caught elephant calves exported from Zimbabwe to ex-situ destinations since 2012.

These calves are now condemned to a lifetime of confinement far removed from their families, lacking the normal social, psychological, physical, and environmental conditions that are crucial to the wellbeing of highly intelligent animals evolved to live in a complex

social and ecological environment. Many of the calves will doubtlessly lead shortened lives; those that survive shall suffer in captivity for decades.

The conditions that the captured and exported elephants face are inhumane, cruel and unjust. The forcible capture and removal of wild elephants from their home ranges and social groups is archaic and unethical, and these exports offer no conservation benefits.

Published research shows that bringing elephants into zoos profoundly impacts their physical and psychological health and viability. Elephants adapt poorly to life in captive facilities. They have shorter lifespans and they breed poorly, if at all, in captivity. The overall infant mortality rate for elephants in zoos is a staggering 40 percent, nearly triple the rate of free-ranging Asian and African elephants.

Elephants are long-lived, social, intelligent animals who live in complex societies with extremely large social networks. They have the largest absolute brain size of any land animal. Neurological, behavioural, and cognitive studies have shown that elephants share characteristics of human brains and behaviour, displaying empathy, problem solving, emotional learning, autonomous thinking, planning and decision-making, self-awareness and self-control. As with humans, elephants have long-term memory and cognitive flexibility, and scientists have observed over 300 different behaviours, most of which involve gestural or acoustic signals of communication.

Young elephants are highly dependent for up to 15 years on their mothers and other family members for protection and learning of necessary social and behavioural skills. The disruption of their social bonds is physically and psychologically traumatic for both the calves and remaining family members. The trauma of attack, family separation, trans-continental shipping, and subsequent cruel training techniques has life-long impacts on the psyche and behaviour of affected individuals and their offspring.

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THE PRO ELEPHANT NETWORK CALLS FOR THE END TO THE LIVE ELEPHANT TRADE BETWEEN ZIMBABWE AND CHINA

AN OPEN LETTER DATED 11TH NOVEMBER 2019, ADDRESSED TO: THE PRESIDENT OF ZIMBABWE, PRESIDENT OF CHINA, PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN AND THE SECRETARIAT OF CITES:

His Excellency Emmerson Mnangagwa President of Zimbabwe 

His Excellency Xi President of People’s Republic of China 

His Excellency Imran Khan Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan

The Secretariat of CITES,

In light of the disturbing recent captures and exports of wild African elephants from Zimbabwe for display in zoos and circuses in China, twenty-two professionals1 in elephant protection, science, and care have called for an immediate end to the live trade in wild-caught elephants. At least 141 wild-caught elephant calves have been exported from Zimbabwe to ex-situ destinations since 2012, primarily to China.

In the wild, elephants are long-lived, social, and intelligent animals2 who live in complex societies with vast social networks. Young elephants are highly dependent on their mothers and other family members for protection and to learn necessary social and behavioural skills, with African males only leaving their family group at 12 to 15 years old and females remaining for life. Any disruption to the elephants’ social bonds is physically and psychologically traumatic for adults and calves alike.

The recently exported Zimbabwean calves have been subjected to severe trauma at two levels. Firstly, the trauma of being removed from their natal herd. Secondly, after being together for nearly a year, the trauma of being split from their captured group and sent to different facilities. This second event may be even more severe because of the calves already compromised physical and emotional well-being. Once individuals have forged strong friendships and found comfort in each other, their forced separation can result in cumulative, life-long impacts on their psyche and behaviour. In fact, the captured Zimbabwean calves are certain to experience long-term adverse effects on their health and welfare as they grow up lacking the normal social, psychological, physical, and environmental conditions that are crucial to the wellbeing of these complex and highly intelligent animals.

The forcible capture and removal of wild elephants from their home ranges and social groups is archaic and unethical, and their export offers no conservation benefits3,4. Elephants adapt poorly to life in captive facilities, where they have shorter lifespans5 and breed poorly, if at all6. Research shows that the viability of elephants is profoundly impaired when brought into zoos, where infanticide, infectious diseases, abnormal repetitive behaviors, infertility, and chronic (and ultimately lethal) foot and joint disorders are prevalent.

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PRESSURE MOUNTS ON GOVERNMENTS TO STOP THE BABY ELEPHANT EXPORT FROM ZIMBABWE TO CHINA

MEDIA RELEASE:

16TH October 2019 

The Zimbabwe National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ZNSPCA) has been denied access to the country’s captive elephants, reportedly about to be sent to captive facilities in China. This suggests that welfare concerns are being ignored. The ZNSCPA is constitutionally permitted to access any part of the country if they suspect cruelty to animals. An urgent chamber application for access is likely to be submitted today.

letter has been delivered by hand to the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, urging the Chinese president to halt the reportedly imminent import of 33 captive elephants from Zimbabwe to undisclosed captive facilities in China (word on the ground estimates that the transport will occur today or tomorrow). The letter is penned by a group of thirty-five global specialists in elephant biology, husbandry, elephant management, legal and policy analysis, economics and conservation, most of whom are based in Africa. A similar letter was hand delivered to HE Mr Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, the Zimbabwean ambassador to the UN, urging the President of Zimbabwe to stop the export.  

In response to the news that a Chinese crew had arrived in Zimbabwe last week to prepare 33 baby elephants for export from Hwange National Park, Zimbabwean activists launched a last-minute bid to prevent it. After being forcibly removed from their families, the elephants have been living in captivity for nearly a year. The People and Earth Solidarity Law Network, a Zimbabwean NGO, filed a lawsuit in May 2019 that demanded details of the export deal. The case (HC4289/19) is before the courts but has not yet been heard by a judge. Their lawyers have sent a letter to the lawyers for Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), stating that going ahead with the translocation “will amount to reckless disregard of the court process”. 

Tinashe Farawo, a spokesperson for ZimParks, has denied that anything untoward is occurring or that the deal is secret, according to a report in the UK Telegraph. He did not, however, deny that the translocation is occurring. 

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THE IMPORT OF 33 ELEPHANTS FROM ZIMBABWE INTO CHINA

DELIVERED BY HAND:

Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations H.E. Mr. Ma Zhaoxu
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative

URGENT LETTER TO THE United Nations REGARDING IMMINENT IMPORT OF 33 YOUNG ELEPHANTS TO CHINA

We, the undersigned, are a group of thirty-five global specialists in elephant biology, husbandry, elephant management, legal and policy analysis, economics and conservation, most of whom are based in Africa.

We present our compliments to the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations and His Excellency.

We are deeply concerned about the reportedly imminent import of some 33 juvenile wild-caught elephants from Zimbabwe to captive locations in China. Our concerns are based on our understanding of elephant biology, of international agreements and national legislation as well as public sentiment within Africa and more widely.

We urgently call on the President of the People’s Republic of China to immediately suspend and ultimately cancel the plans for this import.

We would greatly appreciate it if you could urgently forward our concerns and this letter to the President and the relevant authorities for action.

China has recently made significant strides as a conservation champion, especially through its dedication to the ‘Ecological Civilisation’ programme and subsequent leadership decision to terminate domestic legal ivory markets.

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