ACTOR, COMEDIAN AND ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST RICKY GERVAIS
Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or harm upon any animal. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or suffering for specific achievement, such as killing animals for entertainment; cruelty to animals sometimes encompasses inflicting harm or suffering as an end in itself, defined as zoosadism.
Animal cruelty can be broken down into two main categories: active and passive. Passive cruelty is typified by cases of neglect, in which the cruelty is a lack of action rather than the action itself. Oftentimes passive animal cruelty is accidental, born of ignorance. In many cases of neglect in which an investigator believes that the cruelty occurred out of ignorance, the investigator may attempt to educate the pet owner, then revisit the situation. In more severe cases, exigent circumstances may require that the animal be removed for veterinary care.
Whether it is Elephants killed for their tusks or beaten so they comply in the Asian tourism ‘industry’, Rhino slaughtered for their horns for ‘traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), animals skinned alive for the fur trade etc, animal activists need to stand together to fight for their rights.
At many elephant ‘sanctuaries’ across Thailand and in other countries, the elephants are taught to fear humans. This is so that they will act with compliancy. From babies they are tied up, starved and beaten in what is known as a ‘crush’. This is the act of breaking a young elephant’s spirit. And it’s mostly true what they say: an elephant never forgets. This means that, with their long memories, elephants remember this period of abuse for the rest of their lives. It ensures that the elephants will do what the trainers (also known as mahouts) say, and are more easily trained.
They are also commonly beaten with hooks and sticks that have nails poking out of them – this is when they are seen to be misbehaving or not following orders, or being too slow to respond. The mahouts want the animals to be constantly putting on a performance for those tourists who are there for elephant riding in Thailand.
UNDERCOVER FOOTAGE SHOWS CRUEL TRAINING USED ON BABY ELEPHANTS TO BOOST THAILAND TOURISM
As poaching and habitat loss ravage rhinoceros and elephant populations, protections for these species are vitally important. Today, all five rhino species and both elephant species are threatened with extinction. Efforts are underway across the globe to save these iconic animals.
Elephants and rhinos often experience painful deaths when poached. Rhinos may have their horns cut off while they are still alive and contrary to belief, elephants do not lose their tusks; they are hacked out by poachers.
More than a thousand rhinos and tens of thousands of elephants are killed each year to feed demand for ivory and rhino horn. The international trade in elephants, rhinos, and other species is the second-largest threat to wildlife after habitat loss. If the market continues to drive poaching, both rhinos and elephants could vanish from the wild as early as 2034.
HORRIFIC IMAGES OF ELEPHANTS POACHED FOR THEIR TUSKS AND A RHINO FOR ITS HORN
Every year, hundreds of badgers meet a horrific death in the name of ‘sport’ in the UK at the hands of terriermen. Many of those who have been caught digging into badger setts have used the excuse that they were after foxes – and many have escaped prosecution by so doing.
More than 10,000 are caught, tortured and killed in the UK each year by huntsmen with terriers – with almost a third of these illegal acts being carried out in Wales. Alarmingly, this figure is rising constantly. Terry Spamer, a former RSPCA inspector, believes that there are around 2,000 people involved in badger baiting currently. However, only around three people are caught and convicted of badger baiting each year, while the majority carry on breaking the law.
Traditional fox hunting was banned in England and Wales under the Hunting Act 2004. In spite of existing legislation, there has been 500 successful prosecutions under the Act. However, many incidents of illegal hunting have gone unpunished.
FOX HUNTING AND BADGER BAITING IS ILLEGAL IN THE UK BUT CARRIES ON WITH WITH APPARENT IMPUNITY
Dogfighting is an inhumane ‘bloodsport’ where dogs who have been bred, conditioned and trained to fight are placed in a pit to fight each other for spectator ‘entertainment’ and profit. Fights average one to two hours, ending when one of the dogs cannot continue.
Dog fights usually take part in quiet, private locations, such as in an industrial unit or farm building. Participants will spend months training their dogs in preparation, much like boxing, the fighters will have to hit a target weight to take part. Organisers will create a fighting ‘pit’ for the dogs to fight within.
Dogs who have been used in fighting often have serious injuries to their head, ears, front legs and chest that are caused as they go head-to-head in a pit. They will also have injuries of different ages, some old scars and some fresh wounds.
IT IS BELIEVED OVER 16000 DOGS DIE EACH YEAR IN ORGANIZED DOG FIGHTS
Each year, thousands of bulls are barbarically slaughtered in bullrings around the world. Over the centuries, bullfighters have found countless ways to rig the “fight” in their favor. Bulls are often weakened with drugs or by having sandbags dropped on their backs. Their horns have been shaved to keep them off balance, or petroleum jelly has been rubbed into their eyes to impair their vision.
Every year, approximately 250,000 bulls are killed in bullfights. Bullfighting is already banned by law in many countries including Argentina, Canada, Cuba, Denmark, Italy and the United Kingdom. Although legal in Spain, some Spanish cities, such as Calonge, Tossa de Mar, Vilamacolum and La Vajol, have outlawed the practice of bullfighting. There are only a few countries throughout the world where this practice still takes place (Spain, France, Portugal, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, and Ecuador). ~ HSI.
BULLS ARE TORTURED IN THE NAME OF CULTURE AND TRADITION
Each year from approximately September 1 to March 1, a large-scale hunt of dolphins takes place in the small village of Taiji, Japan, as featured in the 2010 Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove. During this six month season, dolphin hunters utilize drive hunt techniques to herd large numbers of dolphins to shore, resulting in their capture or death.
The captured dolphins may be selected for live trade to aquariums and marine parks for display, while others are slaughtered for their meat. The price for live captures is many times higher than those killed.
THE ANNUAL TAIJI DOLPHIN SLAUGHTER
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A tense Sixth Bull Run at Pamplona’s San Fermín Festival on Tuesday left three people gored, including one American, and three others with bruises, the Navarra regional government said.
OLE!
It was the first run with gorings in the festival so far this year. There are three more daily runs before the festival ends on Thursday.
The regional government said a 25-year-old runner from Sunrise, Florida, was gored in the calf in the Bullring. The other two gored were Spaniards, one in the ring and one on the street. None was in serious condition.
Three other runners, all Spaniards, were treated for injuries sustained in falls during the run.
Television images showed one Bull repeatedly tossing and butting one runner against the wooden barriers on the edge of the ring and then goring another in the back of the leg.
Scotch Snider, a 50-year-old from Austin, Texas, was among the tens of thousands at the annual festival, CBS News’ Ian Lee reported.
“Hell yes, I was afraid, man,” Snider said. “There’s a lot of fear coursing through my blood but now I feel relieved and I’m going to get drunk.”
Don Story, a teacher from the U.S., said he had a simple goal while running with the Bulls.
“We are just hoping to do a good job and not be one of those dumb foreigners that messes it up,” he said.
The spectacle lasted just over three minutes as hundreds of runners, mostly men, ran frantically ahead and alongside six fighting Bulls as they charged through the cobblestone streets of this northern city. The run finishes at Pamplona’s Bullring, where later in the day the Bulls are killed by professional Bullfighters.
Last week, at the first Bull Run, six people were injured. They included a 30-year-old American man who fractured his left arm and a 16-year-old Spanish girl who lost part of a finger in the Bullring.
Animal rights activists say it’s the Bulls that are threatened, and they want to leave this tradition in the past, Lee reports.
“They are stabbed over and over again for 20 minutes until they are dead and it’s incredibly cruel and painful for the Bulls that go through this process,” said Chelsea Monroe, PETA senior digital campaigns officer.
NO MATTER HOW FAST THEY RUN, PAMPLONA BULLS ARE STABBED TO DEATH!
Tens of thousands of visitors come to the Pamplona festival, which was featured in Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises.” The adrenaline rush of the morning Bull Run is followed by partying throughout the day and night.
Eight people were gored in 2019, the last festival before a two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sixteen people have died in Pamplona’s Bull runs since 1910, with the last death in 2009.
What you can do
Support ‘Protect All Wildlife’ by donating as little as £1 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need. Thank you.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals. It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible.
Below, is the full testimony of an anonymous source, a former member of the Oxford University Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) team that radio-collared and studied Cecil prior to him being killed.
CECIL LIVED IN HWANGE NATIONAL PARK, IN ZIMBABWE. HE WAS LURED OUT OF THE PARK WITH AN ELEPHANT CARCASS BY AMERICAN TROPHY HUNTER WALTER PALMER
This anonymous source’s first-hand account of the killing of Cecil 7 years on is an appropriate testimony, not only to the callous way in which American trophy hunter Walter Palmer et al took this pride male Lion’s life for their own self-gratification and/or financial enrichment (the ethos of trophy hunters and the industry that panders to them in general), but also a testimony to why trophy hunting is a vacuous void, devoid of any moral or ethical compass that undermines Africa’s indigenous culture. That is why the long outdated, notion of a bygone era of colonial entitlement and the predominantly white foreigner’s self-proclaimed ‘right’ to kill African wildlife for sadistic entertainment as espoused by trophy hunting must end:
“The physical act of a white hunter coming in and going out on their exploratory adventure, to conquer and kill an animal – that act rehearses the history of colonialism. That point is not lost on people who live in local communities, and it should not be lost on those of us from the country sending trophy hunters” (page 146) – Dr Chelsea Batavia
Senior environmental scientist
“When I started reading the narratives of trophy hunters, I was struck more than anything by the similarity with the narratives of terrorists when they talk about what they do” (page 151) – Professor Geoff Beattie, Professor of Psychology, Edge Hill University. Author, ‘Trophy Hunting: A Psychological Perspective’
The economic forces that drive the trophy hunting industry can be replaced with a balanced approach that enriches Africa’s own cultural identity and interaction with its native wildlife, free from the imposition of the destructive, greed-based desire of the trophy hunting colonial mindset and its bloated lobby heavily financed by vested interests.
ANON – a former member of the Oxford University Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU)
“I worked for close to a decade as a field researcher on the Hwange Lion research project in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. The initial focus of the work was the impact of trophy hunting outside the park on the Lions inside the park. There was a lot of darting, collaring and observational data to collect. I spent 7 days a week tracking Lions, catching and collaring them and getting to know them. Soon that developed into a study of the conflict between people and Lions, a subject I eventually specialised in.
Cecil was a very large mature Lion in Hwange. He was special because very few male Lions ever survive as long as he did, and thus a lot was made of his huge mane and the fact that it was black. The black mane is a genetic trait that is quite strong in Hwange Lions, but very few Lions survive long enough for it to present. Cecil was dominant over some of the best Lion real-estate in Hwange and this too was the area best for tourists. That is why he was so well-known. He had large prides and he was seen daily by tourists. Cecil was very much in his prime when he was shot, despite him being 12 years old or so. The hunters made a case that Cecil was old and therefore past his prime, but that was not true. He was still breeding and in perfect condition. He was considered old because most Lions are shot long before getting to that age. He was one of two males in a coalition. They were unrelated but had forged an alliance because together they were stronger.
On the night of the 1st of July 2015, a couple of professional hunters (PHs) and their client were sitting about 40 or 50 metres from a blind overlooking a dead elephant. Between 9 and 10pm Jericho, Cecil’s coalition partner, ran past the blind and started feeding on the elephant. Jericho was a very large Lion in his own right and was about a year younger than Cecil. His saving grace was that he was blonde. Walter Palmer – the trophy hunter who shot Cecil – has subsequently said that he didn’t know about Cecil and hadn’t come to hunt Cecil specifically. However, the fact that they didn’t shoot Jericho while watching him feed for over an hour meant that they knew that a larger and darker Lion – the traits a trophy hunter prefers – was still to come.
BROTHERS IN ARMS: THE LAST KNOWN PHOTOGRAPH OF CECIL (WITH BROTHER JERICHO STANDING BEHIND HIM)
Cecil arrived about an hour later. Walter Palmer let loose his arrow. Cecil ran off wounded. The hunters left to go back to camp for the night. Normally when a client is about to shoot a Lion from a blind, his professional hunter (PH) is ready too with his rifle. If the client’s shot doesn’t kill the Lion instantly, then the PH shoots the animal to “secure it”. This is common practice because a wounded Lion is dangerous to follow up and nobody wants to do it. The PH is professionally obliged to “back up” the client’s shot to avoid a wounded animal. In this case, however, Walter Palmer had told his PH not to back him up. The reason for this was that Walter Palmer was after Safari Club International’s bow-hunting record for a Lion. If a rifle was subsequently used, then the bow-hunting record would have been disallowed. So Cecil ran off wounded, and the hunters simply went back to camp.
In the morning, at around 9am, the hunters returned and tracked Cecil down. He was badly wounded and hadn’t gone far. Walter Palmer then finished him off with a second arrow. From statements made to police, we understand that when Palmer and the PH approached the Lion they saw the collar and panicked. The PH said that he took the collar off and placed it in a tree before following his client. When he returned he said the collar was gone. We know from the GPS data that the collar was collecting, however, that they then gave that collar to someone who carried it around for a couple of days to mimic a Lion’s movements in order to confuse us and presumably buy time to get the client out of the country. On the morning of July 4, the collar sent its last GPS point and was presumably destroyed. We never found it.
There was no permit for hunting a Lion in that area. The PH had purchased a Lion quota from another area. He was hoping to hunt Cecil and export it as one of the others shot elsewhere. Illegal practices such as those are relatively commonplace.
During my time as part of the Lion project, it happened maybe a dozen times that we know of. Usually the collar is destroyed and we only find it months later. In Cecil’s case he had a new satellite technology collar which meant all its data is sent to a server and even when the collar is destroyed the data is safe and accessible.
CECIL ENJOYS A MOMENT WITH A LIONESS. THE FAMOUS LION WAS KNOWN FOR BEING UNAFRAID OF HUMANS.
I became something of a pariah in Zimbabwe after the story died down. At first, when the story broke, I was the only person on the ground speaking to the press, and I was complimented by the authorities and WildCRU alike. However, when the hunting industry approached the government and told them that if they pressed for Walter Palmer’s extradition they would lose their industry, there was an about-turn.
Suddenly it was said everything was legal and no charges were pressed. I was left alone on the end of the plank, surrounded by sharks. I still had to go to meetings with the very landowners in the Gwaai Valley where Cecil had been shot where I was screamed at and accused of destroying the industry. I slept with a loaded rifle by my bed for many months, always waiting to hear a vehicle approaching our home at night. I have since been subjected to all sorts of abuse and character assassinations, including now having a file of everything I had ever posted on social media printed and given to Zimbabwe’s secret police, the CIO (Central Intelligence Organisation), the Parks authorities, local chiefs and so on. I was banned from entering the park for over a year and forced to delete my Facebook page. I have had to keep a very low profile since.
The situation of Lions today is difficult. There were 1.2 million wild Lions in the 1800s. Now there are around 20,000. They are doing well in protected areas. They are under threat from habitat loss, though, as well conflict with livestock owners which includes retaliatory killing and – worryingly – preventative killings before they kill any livestock. Lion conservation is all about boundaries. On park boundaries, where mortalities are man-related, that is where we lose Lions.
Much value is placed on the value of Lions in terms of economies, both for hunting and photographic safaris, and that is very important. However, to me these are the least important of their three values. The other two are cultural value and ecological value. The cultural value of Lions is all around for us to see. There was a premiership match a while ago between Manchester United and Chelsea. Three of the largest sports brands on earth and all three – the premier league being the third – have a Lion in their logo. That doesn’t even describe the value that the Lion represents to Africans which can hardly be quantified.
The most important aspect or value of Lions, though, is their ecological value. It is very much like the value of wolves which people are now understanding when they were lost and then reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in the US. Lions keep landscapes healthy, rivers flowing and arid areas regenerating whilst avoiding desertification. Simply put, Lions keep browsing animals bunched in dense herds moving which avoids overgrazing. Savannahs are healthier with Lions. The loss of Lions would be a catastrophe for the people of Africa and for the globe to have lost the most iconic species on earth. Economies would suffer and ecosystems would have lost a key component that keeps millions of hectares of Africa from becoming desertified.
PALMER SHOT CECIL WITH A BOW AND ARROW ONCE THE LION LEFT THE SAFETY OF THE PARK, ONLY WOUNDING HIM. HOURS PASSED BEFORE THEY FINISHED HIM OFF
The 2015 IUCN Red Data analysis on Lions reported that trophy hunting was one of the main contributors “to an astonishing decline of 42% of the continent’s total Lion population.” Trophy hunting is detrimental because it targets the largest animals. With Lions, trophy hunters target the males with the darkest manes too. In nature, if a male has those two traits – in other words, he is the largest and darkest male in the area – then he is the pride male. Period. So hunters are targeting the very animal that is maintaining pride stability and holds all the best genes. The loss of that individual is felt for months after his death and over a large area for many species including ours. When a pride is stable and the male is in tenure undisturbed, his male offspring usually leave the pride at about 3.5 – 4.5 years old. They often leave in coalitions and have had plenty of hunting experience to allow them to fight for a territory and take one over for themselves. They are considered adults and will avoid humans and their livestock as a rule. The daughters will tend to stay with their mothers and that continuity is the maintenance of a pride and their territory.
CECIL’S PRIDE: CECIL’S CUBS IN 2015
If a pride male dies naturally, in a fight for instance, the new male is probably stronger with some genetic advantage. He will kill all the cubs from his predecessor and very quickly mate with all receptive females and get his genes into the system as soon as he can. And rightly so, as he is the strongest male around now. If the pride male is hunted, though – and we know that trophy hunters target the pride males by virtue of the fact they are after the largest, darkest males – then the weaker males that couldn’t beat the pride male move in after the hunter has left with his trophy, and the stronger male’s cubs are killed and replaced with weaker genes. We have seen a situation where a coalition of four males in a pride were trophy hunted and up to 16 cubs and sub-adults were killed by new males after the fact. So we don’t just lose 4 males – we lose 20 Lions altogether from that hunt.
Infanticide as I have described sounds all very clinical, but Lionesses if nothing else are the best mothers alive and they hardly just sit and allow their cubs to be killed.
They either fight, in which case they too can be killed, or they flee. Africa’s parks are large, but the Lionesses will flee to the only place that an adult male won’t follow her to kill the cubs, and that is often amongst people. When they leave the parks to avoid infanticide and find themselves amongst people, they rarely find wild prey to live off.
So they may start killing livestock. I noticed this pattern many years ago and I know that WildCRU has the data but they won’t publish it for fear of upsetting the people that give them their permits to study Lions – for example, the Parks department managers who receive money from Lion hunting.
As a result, we are told that trophy hunting is not the largest source of Lion mortality but that conflict with livestock is. This story shows that trophy hunting is in fact a major, if not the major, driver of that conflict. Ironically, the hunters that are responsible for the conflict spikes are often called in to deal with the “problem Lions” with no mention of the fact that they caused it. We have had prides of Lionesses birth 4 or 5 cohorts of cubs and not see a single one reach adulthood because they are caught in this cycle. No sooner have they moved out of the park and started killing livestock than they lose their cubs to snares and “problem animal” control. If the Lionesses survive they now move back to the park without cubs to protect and mate with the new males. Their own cubs are born when hunting season comes around and those males are killed too.
The Truth About Cecil’s Death and The Future of Africa’s Lions
And so the process repeats itself. All the time, Lions are getting the blame and hunters are seen as saving the day. Conflict work is the hardest work of all, especially if you are trying to be sensitive to people and protecting Lions. I have attended meetings where every man attending had an axe on his shoulder for me if the meeting went badly! Yet in Hwange, we know without a shadow of doubt that trophy hunting had the single most significant effect on Lion mortality. As Dr Andrew Loveridge of Oxford University WildCRU has written, levels of hunting mortality exceeded deaths of Lions in conflict with people or killed in wire snares set by poachers and also far outstripped natural levels of mortality. Other sources of mortality such as retaliatory and pre-emptive killing of conflict Lions are often driven by trophy hunting too. So the total impact of trophy hunting is enormous.
Lions breed quickly and their numbers can recover very swiftly once hunting is stopped. We saw Hwange’s Lion population nearly double in the 4 years that Lion hunting was stopped. By allowing the pride males to mature, their protection means that Lionesses lose fewer cubs to Hyaenas. The sub-adults leave later when they are more experienced and can get a territory, rather than get chased around by adult Lions until they too escape the park and predate on livestock – and end up being killed as a ‘problem’ animal.
What perhaps churns my stomach most are the prizes offered by groups such as Safari Club International. To win the highest Safari Club International award, it is estimated that a trophy hunter must kill more than 300 animals. This is one of the strongest arguments against trophy hunting. The hunting and killing of animals purely for ego is a colonial relic that has no place in modern humanity. Pro-hunters argue that if we stop hunting, then the lands that are set aside for it quickly turn to alternative, less Lion-friendly land uses. Slave owners and traders used a similar argument to counter the proposed abolition of slavery. If you ban slavery without finding an alternative source of labour then you won’t have sugar in your coffee, they might say. But that was not an excuse to keep an inhumane system going. It was banned, and people were forced to find an alternative, and so will conservationists when trophy hunting is banned.
MAJESTIC
If you wait, though, then there is no incentive to change. I actually advocate for traditional hunting in protected areas believing that people too are key components of healthy ecosystems, and traditional hunting is a disturbance activity that keeps animals moving and avoids overgrazing. Trophy hunting, though, has no place in African culture. If we are to strengthen Africa’s appreciation and protection of their natural heritage, we must look for links to their cultures. Currently, trophy hunting makes traditional African hunting illegal, and we call them poachers – while rich foreigners come and kill the wildlife with a red carpet rolled out for their arrival. It is vile and has to be consigned to history. These animals should not be sold and hunted as a commodity, but rather they should be part of a strong cultural and ecologically healthy system.
To ensure the survival of Lions, we need to get Africans to feel that the Lions are theirs and not only there for the privileged foreigners to shoot. Often I hear that there are people who have signed a letter saying that the world should leave Africa to manage its wildlife the way it sees fit. I agree with that in principle. However, when I read the list of names, especially from Zimbabwe, I see nobody who represents ordinary people. I see politicians with interests in the trophy hunting industry promoting hunting as “Africans managing their wildlife”. Trophy hunting has no place in African tradition. It is very easy to assemble corrupt people to sing the new song that the powerful trophy hunting lobby want to push, namely that trophy hunting is about promoting African self-determination.
I do believe Africans should decide how to manage their natural resources, but it is almost that they need to be allowed to re-learn what this means. All our park managers are trained by the colonial system under the “if it pays it stays” mantra. Let us instead promote a system change where self-confident Africans, who know what Lions and other wildlife mean to them culturally, and without outside influences, decide what to do with their rich resources. That is paramount. The rest will come easily after that.
I have advocated for the Lion to be declared the first World Heritage Species. This means not seeing it as a tax to ensure the survival of Lions, but rather as a celebration of an animal that means so much to all of humanity. Brands that use Lions for their marketing should come under pressure to pay into a fund that supports the types of work I describe above. Lions are important, but they are also the most efficient means of protecting large areas and a plethora of other species. If you give Lions what they need, their prey will be looked after and their landscapes as well as the people that have to live with them.
It is time to ban trophy hunting, set up Lion as the first World Heritage Species, and raise funds from businesses that use Lions in their marketing. That money should be used to protect Lion landscapes with less stick and more carrot, build up Africans in a way that they can explore what Lions and their wildlife resources mean to them both culturally and ecologically, and empower them to make those decisions.
BELOW ARE PHOTOS OF WALTER PALMER WHO KILLED CECIL IN THE PRIME OF HIS LIFE
US TROPHY HUNTER WALTER PALMER (LEFT) WITH ANOTHER LION HE KILLEDPALMER IS SNAPPED HERE WITH A RHINO THAT HE APPARENTLY PAID £13,000 TO KILL
PALMER WITH A LEOPARD FROM HIS NOW CLOSED FACEBOOK PAGE
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible.
Mexican authorities have shut down the wild animal sanctuary Black Jaguar White Tiger in Mexico City on after accusations by former employees and activists of animal cruelty.
A POLICE OFFICER STANDS GUARD AT THE BLACK JAGUAR-WHITE TIGER SANCTUARYSHOCKING IMAGES OF EMACIATED LIONS
In this video, we can see the lack of attention and care to these felines. From malnutrition, scabies and many tailless felines, showing the terrible conditions of Black Jaguar White Tiger, which have affected the health of all these animals.
After this courageous denunciation, on July 5 the place was secured by PROFEPA, so that specialists and veterinarians of the AZCARM (Association of Zoos and Aquariums of Mexico A.C)can recover these animals, rehabilitate them and relocate them in several zoos in Mexico, where they will have the recovery and life they deserve.
In Fundación Comunal A.C. we join the efforts to help us all be part of this and be able to gather enough resources to give these animals a better life. A lot of support is needed to cover the expenses that this entails:
The resources obtained from this case will be delivered directly to the AZCARM and full transparency will be given to the handling of the same.
Black Jaguar-White Tiger is a well-known nonprofit that has provided a home to animals that are born or sold in Mexico, including animals from zoos or circuses and those that have been seized from breeders or collectors. In the past, it has received financial support from celebrities such as British race car driver Lewis Hamilton, Colombian singer Maluma and American actress Kristen Stewart, according to the newspaper El Universal.
LOTS OF ‘CELEBRITIES’ ENDORSED THE HELL BY POSING WITH THE ANIMALS
Eduardo Serio, the founder of Black Jaguar-White Tiger, denied that his animals were suffering mistreatment, and he contended that the photos and videos on social networks — which show animals that have infections and are exhausted, in addition to being malnourished — have been taken out of context.
EDUARDO SERIO, THE FOUNDER OF BLACK JAGUAR-WHITE TIGER WITH HIS ‘PLAYTHINGS’
Ernesto Zazueta, president of Azcarm, called for a harsh punishment for Serio, whom he categorized as one of the “pseudo-animalists and pseudo-activists” who is doing “so much damage to the wildlife” in Mexico. “This man, as well as the owners of other animal rights foundations, become very famous and rich through lies and deceit. They are not wildlife specialists. They are only very good at profiting from animals, and when they achieve their economic goals and feed their enormous ego, they simply forget about them and let them die.”
What you can do
Support ‘Protect All Wildlife’ by donating as little as £1 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need. Thank you.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals. It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible. Thank you for your support.
The incident happened in the Jalpaiguri district of the state.
THE AFTERMATH OF THE COLLISION
The Banarhat-Nagrakata train route passes through a major Elephant corridor often leading to such tragic accidents involving Elephants.
The heart-wrenching video that surfaced on various social media platforms showed the critically injured Elephant trying hard to drag itself out of the railway track, as people watched in helplessness, after being hit by the engine of the intercity express.
The video shows the impact of the injury on the poor animal while people watch helplessly. In 2004, the Dooars line was converted from metre gauge to broad gauge; a move that saw a sharp increase in Elephant deaths.
END THIS HEARTACHE
But despite all the precautionary measures and efforts, such as speed limits and buzzers, trains on the Dooars route have continued to kill Elephants.
In the period between 2013 to June 2019, a total of 67 Elephants were killed in train-related accidents.
Actor Randeep Hooda said in a twitter post “The agony of the Elephant is quite evident in the video, the impact can be gauged by the damage to the engine.
I humbly urge the ministry to drastically reduce speed of trains through this area, humans can easily manage slight delay to keep wildlife safe”
For the sake of the Elephants, let’s hope they listen and reduce the speed of trains through the corridor.
ELEPHANTS CROSSING THE TRACKS IN WEST BENGAL
WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP
Protect All Wildlife are supporting Voice for Asian Elephants Society with their campaign to help stop Elephants from being crushed by speeding trains. They are piloting an early warning system to alert train drivers of Elephants presence, with enough time for the speeding train to stop and the sirens will also warn Elephants.
For the month of July Protect All Wildlife are donating ALL proceeds from sales of items raising awareness to animal welfare. Visit the on-line shop at https://protect-all-wildlife.ecwid.com/
SOME OF THE FUND-RAISING ITEMS AVAILABLE AT THE PAW STORE
This is the incredible moment a baby elephant was flown in the back of a four-seater plane to escape from poachers who slaughtered its entire family.
The young orphan, named Max, was rescued after 100 other elephants, including its relatives, were killed by poachers between Chad and Cameroon in Central Africa.
It was squeezed into the back of the small aircraft alongside Gary Roberts, an American nurse and missionary, before being flown to Mr Roberts’s house for medical treatment.
Footage shows the 353lb elephant waving its trunk around as it sits in the plane, before gripping a bottle of water in its jaws.
‘With an animal that size, you can feel its weight shifting in the aircraft,’ Mr Roberts later told BBC News.
Unfortunately, Max died just a few days after his ordeal in March 2013 as a result of his traumatic experience and the cow’s milk he was fed in a village before being rescued.
Social media users have deemed the video ‘heartbreaking’ with many condemning the poachers for their ‘massacre’ of the baby elephants’ family.
One wrote: ‘A sad story of genuine humans giving it all to try and save the only survivor of poachers’ massacre.’ Another added: ‘How sad that the elephant died after all that effort.’
Original article by Sophie Jane Evans for Mail Online September 2014.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible. Thank you your support.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Riaan Naude, a trophy hunter in South Africa known for “proudly” displaying images of himself with innocent animals that he killed for so-called “sport,” has been killed. Naude’s company Pro Hunt Africa has taken the lives of many threatened and endangered species throughout South Africa.
Riaan Naude was a professional hunter denounced by international animal rights organizations due to the large number of wild specimens that died in his hands.
Naude also was heavily involved in breeding and selling Giraffes to numerous customers so that they could later hunt them and serve as personal trophies.
NAUDE ALSO BRED AND SOLD HUNDREDS OF GIRAFFES FOR TROPHY HUNTERS TO ‘HUNT’
Environmentalists Expose Trophy Killing confirmed the news through their Twitter account, stating that Naude was killed while on a hunting trip.
Naude stopped his vehicle on the side of the road approximately 5 km from Mokopane after it overheated, according to the Heritage Protection Group (HPG), a non-profit crime-fighting organization
A second vehicle pulled up next to Naude, and a man shot him in cold blood at close range.
The two suspects got out of the car and stole a gun from Naude, HPG mentions. “The suspects then got into their vehicle and drove in the direction of Marken.”
Police spokesman Lt. Col. Mamphaswa Seabi said that when police officers arrived at the scene, they found the lifeless body next to his vehicle.
Police found two hunting rifles, clothing, water, whiskey, and pyjamas in the victim’s vehicle. The motive for the murder is unknown currently.
The news has gone viral on social media and many cybernauts celebrated the killing, arguing that it was an act of justice for the animals.
“Hunter hunted. There is party in animal heaven. I’m not happy, but animals should not be anyone’s trophy; they should live and survive in their habitat naturally,” wrote a user in response to Expose Trophy Hunts tweet.
“No more abusing defenceless animals,” commented another user.
When I look at this picture (of Naude holding a Lion) I can’t feel sorry for him.
Death is the hardest thing to bear and I think of his family. However this magnificent lion in the picture also died…why turn a beautiful mature lion into a lifeless trophy? said another.
Truly, a tragedy. Why is it always the good ones that get taken from us so soon? My deepest sympathies to this poor lion’s family. said another
Why was he executed?
Although the authorities are working on the case, the hypothesis they are handling is the “high level of hatred that the locals had for the hunter, due to the enormous number of animals he killed.”
PROTECT ALL WILDLIFE
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible. Thank you for your support.
JOHANNESBURG ZOO ‘INMATES’ LAMMIE, MOPANE AND RAMADIBA
A ground-breaking application for the release of three Elephants, held captive for public display purposes at the Johannesburg Zoo, was filed on the 20th of June 2022.
As sentient beings, Lammie, Mopane and Ramadiba are housed in an enclosure in the Johannesburg Zoo, under conditions that fail to meet even their most basic needs. Experts have confirmed that the Elephants are exhibiting psychological distress symptoms as a result of inadequate living conditions.
There is no precedent for a case like this in South Africa, calling for the release of the Elephants to a sanctuary where they could roam freely.
Lammie has been living at the Jhb Zoo for 42 years – her entire life. In 2018, her companion of 17 years, Kinkel, passed away. At the time, the NSPCA and Humane Society International called for Lammie’s release, but the Zoo Management decided to source new companions (read ‘fellow inmates’) for her, completely ignoring the public outcry.
In 2019 the zoo ignored please to #FreeLammie and introduceds two new Elephants to her captivity instead ~ Mopane and Ramadiba.
HSI/Africa’s Wildlife Director Audrey Delsink, said: “We are furious that instead of doing the right and honourable thing for Lammie by giving her freedom in a vast sanctuary with a new elephant herd, Johannesburg Zoo has forged ahead and brought two new elephants for Lammie to share what remains of her life in captivity. Such was their haste to acquire these elephants, they have done so without completing any of the expansion or renovation work they promised and ignored both public opinion and the pleas of some of the world’s most eminent elephant experts and conservationists. The Gauteng Legislature has also utterly failed to respect the wishes of the 301,652 petitioners who called for Lammie to be released. Johannesburg zoo claims it acted legally but the question is has it acted morally, and from Lammie’s point of view the answer is no. This decision denies Lammie, and the two new elephants, the chance of a decent, fulfilling life. This sorry episode has exposed the zoo authorities as lagging far behind global trends to close elephant zoo exhibits, something that 150 progressive, modern zoos have already done in recognition of the inescapable fact that such captivity cannot meet elephants’ complex physiological, psychological and social requirements. Johannesburg Zoo may well have acted on the right side of the law, but they have found themselves on the wrong side of history.”
Despite the fact that 52 zoos across Europe and North America have closed their Elephant exhibits, there are still more than 1000 Elephants held captive in zoos around the world, for human entertainment. This figure includes 22 Namibian wild-caught desert-adapted Elephants, recently sold and transported to Dubai.
Elephants are highly social, complex animals, living in structured hierarchy in the wild, normally in herds numbering around 75 individuals. They form close ties with family members, and are not able to adapt to a life that is worlds apart from how they were meant to live.
There are many cases that illustrate the results of trauma bestowed upon Elephants during capturing and culling, such as the Pilanesberg Orphans. Rescued from an indiscriminate Kruger National Park culling, the young males in this instance ended up killing Rhinos and attacking tourists, because they had no role models (no adult, experienced males) as patriarchs.
Torn from their families to be inserted into a life of forced captivity, the three Johannesburg Zoo Elephants have no access to any normal surroundings mimicking Nature; they live isolated, unnatural lives, without any enrichment and without the support and love from a normal Elephant family.
The South African Constitution makes provision for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. This court application highlights the chasm between the interpretation of the law, and the physical situation that the Elephants are enduring.
Stephen Fritz, Senior Chief of the South Peninsula Customary Khoisan Council, said the legal remedy is being sought to have the elephants released to live out the remainder of their lives in a natural environment.
“Leading global Elephant experts have attested to the fact that Lammie, Mopane and Ramadiba are highly intelligent, socially complex and sentient beings who are living in conditions that are averse to their well-being, and are as a result in a state of distress.
“The conditions offered by the Johannesburg Zoo do not meet their fundamental physical, mental and emotional needs.”
Fritz said imprisoning the elephants showcases the past and the present will humiliate and disrespect South Africa’s culture and heritage.
“For many years I have felt ashamed and powerless: I am, therefore, relieved that a large number of experts and scientists have united, bringing together a wealth of knowledge to offer these Elephants a powerful defence. “
In his affidavit, Fritz argues that the manner in which the City of Johannesburg and the Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo confine and exhibit the elephants is offensive to the culture and living heritage of the Khoi peoples, and undermines the recovery and perpetuation of their living heritage.
“Despite repeated representations and requests to release the elephants from captivity at the Johannesburg Zoo, the officials have failed or refused to do so.”
Fritz said the applicants are requesting that the court release the elephants into the care of the EMS Foundation, which will appoint relevant and qualified experts to assess the elephants and manage their relocation, rehabilitation and reintegration into a wild environment.
Both Lammie and her previous partner, Kinkel, who died at the zoo, have been injured after falling into the moat. In 2001, Lammie fell in and was reported to have “both right legs stiff” and broke her tusk, but survived. Kinkel fell into the moat in 2007 but was apparently uninjured. He died at the zoo in September last year after a long-term history of chronic colic and eating sand. He was 35 years old.
LAMMIE ON THE EDGE OF THE MOAT THAT HE FELL INTO AND INJURED HERSELF
Following Kinkel’s death, Joburg Zoo stated that the elephant enclosure would be enlarged. However, no such improvements have been made.
To this day, no renovations have been implemented and Ramadiba and Mopane were added to the same small and inadequate enclosure that Lammie has endured for 39 years. Furthermore, the new elephants, though of captive origin, were in a free contact system and were able to roam the confines of their previous home. Now, they will be imprisoned in a half hectare enclosure and have to face new challenges such as the moat.
“This is a sad day for elephants, yet another two elephants are unnecessarily been subjected to a life of imprisonment due to the lack of ethical management choices made by Joburg Zoo.” said Brett Mitchell, Director of Elephant Reintegration Trust.
Humane Society International/Africa is urging South Africans to show their disapproval by refusing to visit Johannesburg Zoo and to support elephant conservation projects that only portray elephants in the wild by protecting their habitats and protecting them from the threats of poaching and exploitation.
PLEASE HELP ME
Protect All Wildlife
The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.
It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible.
Ricky Gervais has carved an incredibly successful career from making people laugh but it’s no joking matter when it comes to standing up for the rights of animals!
In 2014, Ricky famously declared; “Animals don’t have a voice. But I do. A loud one. I’m a fucking big mouth. My voice is for them. And I’ll never shut up while they suffer”. And true to his word, Ricky is constantly shouting from the rooftops about bringing an end to animal cruelty. Whether it’s fighting against Fox hunting or battling a historic Bull fight when it comes to all creatures great and small, Ricky has their back.
Thanks to his celebrity status from films and TV, Ricky has a staggering following on Twitter and Facebook and he regularly uses social media to make people sit up and listen. One carefully worded tweet to his millions of followers can bring global attention to animals in fear or danger within seconds. He can encourage charity donations to come flooding in and get everyone talking about shocking examples of cruelty around the world.
In the past, Ricky has used social media to highlight the atrocity of 10,000 dogs slaughtered every year at the annual Chinese Yulin Dog Meat Festival and campaigned to bring it to an end.
He has individually named and shamed ‘big game hunters’ as they’ve posed by their bleeding ‘trophies’. Ricky also posted this message on his Facebook page – “I’m sick of Trophy Hunters trying to excuse their grim sport by saying they provide a service. They exploit the needs of the poor. They pay lots of money to go and shoot a magnificent animal because the authorities need the cash, and then claim they are doing a good deed. It’s not a good deed. Those authorities would rather have the money AND the animal still alive but they can’t afford to. So they’re forced to take money from rich psychopaths who get their cheap fucking thrills from shooting a giraffe or elephant in the head. If they were providing a service THEY would be the ones being paid. Imagine a vet paying you to put down your dog and then taking a selfie next to the corpse. And as for “the money goes to saving there remaining animals”. Oh dear. Where will it end? Can you pay more to kill the Leopard with a hammer if that’s your perversion? They’re already killing with bows and arrows for fucks sake. And would we allow some billionaire sicko to shoot one cancer patient if he gave a million dollars to cancer research? No. Of course we fucking wouldn’t. If they really wanted to do a good deed they would donate the money, and NOT shoot the animal. They would be heroes then. As opposed to murdering scum”.
In 2014, Ricky lent his considerable Twitter celebrity to the campaign against Western Australia’s controversial Shark kill policy. He appeared on social media holding up a sign decrying the WA government plans to catch and kill any shark 3m or over that comes within 1km of a Perth beach. It read: “To the government of Western Australia – Listen to Facts, Listen to Science, Listen to Reason – Stop the Shark Cull.” He also used his appearance at the British National Television Awards.
A local street artist made his own protest by painting a mural on a building which included the anti-cull quote by from Ricky. The cull was later called off!
Also in 2014, Ricky symbolically adopted one of the 130 moon Bears on a Bear bile farm in Nanning, China, a farm that’s set to transition into Animals Asia’s third moon Bear sanctuary. Ricky named the young male Bear, Derek, after his comedy-drama.
L to R – Peter Egan, Ricky’s partner Jane Fallon, Ricky and Jill Robinson (founder of Animals Asia)
Derek was a ten-year-old Bear with a host of problems, as a result of a life trapped in a cage where workers would extract his bile. His head is raw from years of rubbing his head against the bars of his small cage, and most of his teeth have fallen out, with the exception of a few rotten teeth which badly needed to be extracted. His lolloping tongue is a result of a nerve damage, while his right eye suffers from a cataract.
“Derek is a beautiful but very damaged Bear,” said Ricky. “After such a sad and traumatic existence on a Bear farm I am thrilled to have adopted him as one of 130 Bears currently being rescued by Animals Asia in China and long to see him enjoying his new life in the sun! I so admire this historic initiative to turn a Bear farm into a sanctuary and applaud the efforts of everyone involved.”
In the USA in 2015, a female black bear called Ricky who spent 18 years in a cage was freed after a settlement in a lawsuit brought by the Animal Legal Defense Fund
The lawsuit was filed by in December 2014 on behalf of concerned Pennsylvania residents against Jim Mack’s Ice Cream, where Ricky had lived in a small, concrete cage, eating a mix of corn and dog food funnelled onto the floor of her enclosure.
Ricky’s plight drew national attention, and tens of thousands of people (including Ricky) signed petitions requesting her release..
Again in 2015, Ricky helped hundreds of shelter dogs desperately lacking food and medical care. When an influx of 680 dogs arrived at a public shelter in Odai, Romania, the workers knew these dogs didn’t have anywhere else to turn. Despite not having enough food, bedding or even bowls for water, the shelter took them in. They needed help and fast, so London-based partner rescue, K-9 Angels created a fundraising page with an urgent plea for donations “to ease the emergency situation at the shelter.” Over the course of several days, the group had raised only about £4,000 for the Romanian shelter. The money was enough to make sure the dogs had enough food for about two months, but it didn’t come anywhere near what the shelter needed to pay for basic supplies, vaccinations and labour costs. In fact, it was about £26,000 short. That’s when Ricky stepped in and posted the following tweet.
OK. That's The Emmys done. Now back to important stuff. Emergency food & aid for dogs at Odai public shelter, https://t.co/6PS5kSW8Mn pls RT
“Within days we had raised £20,000. Before Ricky retweeted we had only raised £4,000 so it just goes to show the power that animal loving celebs have. We are very grateful,” K-9 Angels founder Victoria Eisermann. The group showed their gratitude with a post in which they called the comedian “an angel” for sharing their fundraiser page. Eisermann added that the group even honoured Ricky by naming one of the young puppies “Ricky.”
Lately, Ricky has been very vocal about Lucy’s Law, the campaign to end the heart-breaking puppy farming trade. Lucy’s Law is named after a remarkable Cavalier Spaniel called Lucy who was rescued from a Welsh puppy farm and became a celebrity in her own right on social media before her death more than a year ago. Ricky regularly posted details on Twitter and Facebook leading to it being a short distance from becoming law.
Ricky’s passion and ability to be vocal has made millions of people painfully aware of such issues as the slaughter of whales in the Faroe Islands and the stolen pet dogs of Thailand that are destined for the illegal meat trade.
Ricky also reminds us all of the huge number of animals in rescue shelters and the importance of the hashtag #AdoptDontShop with his numerous posts.
Ricky is driven to raise awareness and get signatures on petitions that pile pressure on governments. He has put his name to campaigns with charities such as PETA and the Humane Society International. Ricky won’t stop until animals are protected from blood sports, their fur is no longer used as a fashion statement, the Yulin ‘festival’ ends and the last SeaWorld ‘fish tank’ is empty (etc etc!)
This year Ricky donated £427,243 to animal charities from the sale of premium seats for his stand-up tour Supernature.
Ricky said: ‘It is such a privilege to be able to help animals in need, simply by doing a job that I already love.’
Ricky is undoubtedly a voice for all animals and it’s fair to say the world is listens to him.
And a final quote from Ricky……
This is only a small part of what Ricky has done for animals over the years.
…….and THAT is why Ricky Gervais is a animal rights legend!!
Protect All Wildlife
The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.
It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible.
With big eyes, this baby Elephant enthusiastically climbs on the tired old man lying on the ground.
At just nine months old, he explores the world with all the playful curiosity of an enthusiastic young man.
And the older Elephants in the group let the smaller ones patiently crawl on them and show how kind these powerful animals can be. But there is a tragedy behind this extraordinary image.
Instead of growing up with their natural families, these Elephants are orphans forced to create their own extraordinary family of survivors.
Bondeni always wants to play with his Keepers and can usually be found chasing after or climbing on top of his friends!
Some were separated from their mothers by mistake, but too many were orphaned by predatory ivory poachers.
And these Elephants, who lie down to calm the little ones, are only two years old. Since they have no adults in their group, they became the protective mother figures 20 years earlier.
The family of 50 lives in the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya. Each of them has a heart-breaking story.
A young woman arrived at a ranch at the age of just seven weeks, roared with grief, and was “desperately looking for a company” after her mother was massacred.
Another was “found standing guard over her dying mother”, another victim of the ivory trade. So, it’s no wonder that when Elephants are taken to the orphanage, they are so traumatized that only one in ten survives.
In these risky early days, keepers, men from nearby villages, are careful to stay in physical contact with the newcomer at all times and imitate the affection he would have received from his relatives.
The 50-strong family lives at an orphanage run by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, Kenya. Above, a keeper looks after a young Elephant
The emotions of a young Elephant are so strong that a different animal keeper has to sleep next to him every night. If not, the orphan becomes too affectionate and begins to cry when her human companion has to be absent from work.
Luckily, there is an easy way to tell if the newcomer is successful. Baby Elephants should have thick cheeks like their human counterparts.
Older Elephants will benevolently watch over any nervous child. And as soon as this initial shock is overcome, the orphans will play and frolic happily together.
Due to the strength of a young Elephant’s emotions the keepers change the animal they sleep near each night. If not, the orphan will become too attached and start to grieve when its human companion has to take time off work
After the terrible two years, the orphans are transferred to one of the Trust’s two rehabilitation centres in Tsavo East National Park, where they recognize some of their older playmates from kindergarten.
There, they will slowly begin to reintegrate into the desert, a process that takes years. They go on walks with their animal caretakers until they gain confidence in their independence and receive water and milk until they are ten years old.
One day they’ll leave and they won’t come back. The little orphans who have won against adversity hope to start their own families.
Protect All Wildlife
The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.
It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible. Thank you for your support and consideration.
PROTECT ALL WILDLIFE 