Growing calls to relocate Charlie the elephant from the Zoo

CAPE TOWN - The Elizabeth Margaret Steyn Foundation says it will not back down in its fight to get Charlie the elephant released from the National Zoological Gardens, or Pretoria Zoo, as it is concerned about the animal’s health and mental well-being.

The organisation launched a petition earlier this year calling for Charlie to be freed and Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Barbara Creecy to close down the elephant exhibition at the zoo.

The foundation said zoos were incapable of offering elephants the space they required to stay healthy. “Elephants need to walk great distances and forage for the correct diet. Too many elephants have died prematurely in zoos in South Africa and around the world.”

In December, members of the Pro Elephant Network, animal rights activists and specialists from around South Africa and Africa wrote an open letter to Creecy raising concerns about the well-being of elephants in zoos around the country.

“When any animal does not receive the natural diet for which it was intended, it inevitably leads to disease.

What these elephants are being fed does not come close to their natural diet in the wild. This is indeed an additional form of abuse. Eating sand could be an attempt to satisfy the mineral imbalances, as well as a management issue.”

Angeline Schwan from the South African National Biodiversity Institute said the National Zoological Gardens, founded 122 years ago, housed more than 4 500 animals which from time-to-time may need veterinary care.

“Charlie had a stomach ailment in the last week of October this year and was treated immediately by the zoo veterinary team,” Schwan said.

Cape Times