EMS FOUNDATION PRESS Release, 3 September 2019
ELEPHANTS IN CAPTIVITY TO COME UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
ln Hermanus on 6 September, at the Municipal Auditorium, elephant specialists from around Africa and the world will take part in a conference, Taking Elephants out of the Room, to begin the process of dealing with issues of their captivity, welfare and the ethics of confining these sentient creatures. The aim will be to create a framework within which to assess the ‘imprisonment’ of captive elephants and to set standards for their ethical treatment.
The legendary Ambroseli elephant researcher Dr Joyce Poole will discuss who elephants are and why they are not suited for captivity.
The conference, organized by the EMS Foundation is the first specifically discussing the topic of Elephants in captivity; it follows the Geneva meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which ended on Aug 28 and where the trade in live elephants and ivory sparked off often furious debate.
In a historic victory for elephants, a two-third majority of member parties voted that elephants may not be removed from their wild habitats except under exceptional circumstances. Extracting elephants from the wild for human pleasure in zoos is now internationally unacceptable.
Elephants are in crisis with at least 20,000 being illegally killed each year for their ivory. On average around 55 elephants are poached every day in Africa – that’s roughly one every 26 minutes.
The CITES Congress was petitioned by renowned conservationist Jane Goodall as well as celebrities such as Ricky Gervias, Judi Dench, Brigette Bardot, Pamela Anderson, Joanna Lumley and Bryan Adams to uphold the ban on the capture of wild baby African elephants for export to zoos and circuses.
A ‘hidden’ statistic is the number of elephants being kept in small enclosures or used for elephant-back rides, a practice that requires cruel treatment using leg chains and sharp bull-hooks.
Topics under discussion at the Hermanus conference will be the importance of neuroscience in elephant conservation; the capture and sale of young elephants in Zimbabwe; the way in which elephants are financially exploited; the state of zoos; the myth of ‘acceptable destinations’ for translocated elephants; problems with sustainable use; welfare and stress in captivity and elephants’ importance in nature.
The conference will be opened by Khoisan leader Chief Stephen Fritz and delegates will include Dr Joyce Poole of Elephant Voices, Dr Marion Garai and Dr Yolanda Pretorius of the Elephant Specialist Advisory Group, Lenin Chisaira of the Zimbabwe People and Earth Solidarity Law Network, Prof David Bilchitz of Animal Law Reform, Dr Gay Bradshaw of the Kerulos Center for Nonviolence in the USA, Advocate Jim Karani from the High Court of Kenya, conservation biologist Keith Lindsay, elephant reintegration specialist Brett Mitchell and Kenyan animal welfare specialist Kahindi Lekalhaile.
The event will be visible in livestream on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwMta5Lt6lY7oBhFtfpX7Tg/live
For further information or bookings contact stefania@emsfoundation.org.za ; www.emsfoundation.org.za
Find here the map with directions to the Hermanus Municipal Auditorium https://maps.app.goo.gl/A96QqEzj5JjVHetr5