Animal Rescue with Marion Garnett
Dedicated animal expert MARION GARNETT, founder of the Ealing Animal Charities Fair continues her column
MOST of us have things which lift our spirits. It may be a seaview, going to the gym or listening to music. We also have things which get us down and diminish our spirit. We may feel disappointed, undervalued or be on the receiving end of unfair comments – these can all put our candle out.
It’s unbelievable that, sometimes, people intentionally want to break the spirit of another person or animal. But that is precisely what happens to baby Asian elephants.
In order to make elephants submissive enough to be used in the tourist industry, baby elephants are poached from the wild to be “trained” for attractions such as elephant rides and parades. The brutal training called “pajan” means to break the spirit. This involves isolation in a crushing cage, starvation, dehydration and then beating with bars and spikes until they are completely submissive. The process is so prolonged and violent it is believed at least half the elephants die during or after pajan. This brutality is reinforced through the elephants’ lives by more beatings. Yet the UK tourist industry continues to send its customers to such ‘attractions.’
But this cruelty is not unchallenged. Earlier this month, local resident and eminent lawyer, Duncan McNair, founder of Save The Asian Elephants (STAE) presented petitions to the Prime Minister calling for the government to take an active role in stopping the suffering of these endangered animals. This includes introducing a new law which would ban advertising in the UK of unethical attractions involving Asian elephants. Visit stae.org for information.
Another society which needs our support is Hounslow Animal Welfare Society (HAWS).
They constantly have lots of cats and kittens looking for homes. In July, they had a “first”. One of their mums gave birth to five kittens, four of which are polydactyl – with more toes than usual.
It was the first time, HAWS had known so many kittens from one litter to be polydactyl. Visit haws-animals.org. uk or call 020 8560 5443 to find out about adoption.
■ National Animal Welfare Trust’s Summer Open Day is on Monday, 11am-4pm at Tylers Way, Watford by pass, WD25 8WT. There will be a dog show, stalls and you can look round the animals.