Wildlife writer and conservationist Don Pinnock writes for SA Breaking News and is quoted by conservationaction.co.za that the Namibian government recently granted the rights for the export of the baby elephants.
In the mean time the Humane Society International (HSI) wrote and open letter to Johan Hansen of the farm Eden Wildlife condemning the sale. The letter is co-signed by 35 other organisations requested that he ‘immediately and permanently halt plans to capture and export five young live elephants….to Dubai Safari Park in the United Arab Emirates’.
Pinnock quotes sources who would suggest that the Dubai Safari Park will offer elephants rides, which HSI says may require cruel ‘taming’ practices such as withholding of food and water as well as painful physical restraints.
The letter points out that the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s African Elephant Specialist Group opposes the removal of African elephants from the wild for captive use because ‘there is no direct benefit for in situ conservation.’
It also notes that young elephants are dependent on their mothers and herds to acquire necessary socialisation skills and that disruption of this bond is physically and psychologically traumatic for the calf and remaining herd. Trading wild elephants for commercial purposes is also illegal in terms of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species on Fauna and Flora (CITES) criteria.
According to the Namibian Sun newspaper, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism dismissed allegations that the export did not meet these criteria.
Namibian environment minister Pohamba Shifeta insisted the sale was not for commercial purposes but ‘purely for conservation as Namibia has seen an increase in its elephant population and in human-wildlife conflict.’ He said that Namibian elephant population was increasing, the sale was purely for population management and that CITES requirements had been met.
In response, Audrey Delsink, executive director for HSI/Africa, said: ‘Ethically responsible elephant scientists and preserve managers know that capturing and selling elephant calves is not a humane or efficient population management measure, as the Namibian government claims. Rather, it is a false pretence to make financial gains that have no conservation benefits.”
Earth Organisation Namibia has questioned these assurances: ‘In a recent CITES report Namibia has given its official elephant numbers as 22 711, of which 13 136 live in the North-East of the country. It is impossible to verify those numbers because Namibia decided not to be part of the Great Elephant Census (GEC). Of all the countries with substantial elephant populations, Namibia was the only one that elected not to participate. If Namibia has such a large population of elephants, why did it choose not to be part of the GEC?’
