Captive elephants not our slaves and deserve better
It saddens me to read of zoo management who, in 2016, continue their old ways and attempt to justify their treatment of wild animals for commercial gain.
I remember years ago when management at some zoo’s in Malaysia, resisted as best they could, the repeated calls to stop Orang Utans from being abused in entertainment shows. The government eventually, to its credit, banned the shows. None of these zoos have since gone out of business.
Take elephants, for example: In some Malaysian zoos and so-called wildlife parks, management still cling stubbornly to the past.
Does any sane person believe, even for a second, elephants enjoy carrying people on their backs?
Why would anyone oppose banning elephant rides and instead treat these wonderful animals with the respect they deserve? WHY?
Given a choice – if an elephant could speak for itself, do you honestly think it would invite four to six people of any age and weight, onto its back, and then carry them round and round in circles all day long in sweltering heat, sometimes while walking on hard concrete?
Forcing an elephant to walk, or stand, on a hard surface like concrete, is akin to you being made to walk barefoot while carrying one tourist on your back over an African savannah in the heat of the day. Would you choose to do this for an hour, even a day, every day of your life? As a slave, at night time you would then be chained by one, sometimes two legs, for up to 12 hours, with no access to food or water, standing in your own urine and faeces. Is this a career choice you would make?
How would you then feel if the person who ‘owned’ you – the slave, prospered from treating you in this way? What if the same person said, ‘Oh, but you are mine, to treat how I wish despite constant criticism, and I will never allow you to mix with other people?’ How would this make you feel?
Does this remind you of the days when black people were treated as slaves and constantly abused by their ‘owners’ – the people who bought them and defended this evil exploitation until one-day change was forced upon them by the law? Do you see the similarity between such people and those who ‘own’ elephants and make them work all day before chaining them by their feet at night?
Is there any doubt in your mind elephants, undeniably supremely intelligent and sensitive animals who prefer to live in family groups (like you and me), deserve to be treated better in zoos and so-called wildlife parks?
Do you agree, tourists riding on the backs of elephants should be banned by both MAZPA and the government, before the end of next month at the latest? After all, this matter is serious and deserves immediate action, doesn’t it? Dr Martin Luther King once said, “The time is always right to do what is right.”
Until MAZPA and the government show more compassion for these elephants, the criticism will never stop. I invite MAZPA and Natural Resources and Environment Minister, Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, to show they really care about captive elephants by supporting our request to ban elephant rides in Malaysia.
Zoos and wildlife parks should be places where wild animals are treated well and respected: After all, that’s inscribed in the Malaysia Wildlife Conservation Act 2010. It’s way past the time when some zoo management, not only in Malaysia, should let go of the past – a time when many saw zoos only as a place of entertainment and dead animals were replaceable with more from the wild – often illegally.
If you, the reader, care about elephants, think of them as slaves and please do not ride on them.
Incidentally, we have yet to find a single zoo in Malaysia discouraging the wildlife trade, promoting the conservation of Malaysia’s endemic wildlife or, supporting conservation in the field. What does this tell you?
I ask all zoos: How can you go forward if you are still living and working in the past?
p.s. There is even talk of elephants being sent back to the truly horrible Johor Zoo. Another example of commercial gain being put before animal welfare? This zoo needs closure – and not replacing. Please don’t replace a small bad zoo with an even worse large and bad zoo.
Sean Whyte represents Nature Alert.
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