Celebrities urge EU to back ban on elephant ‘snatching’

ANIMAL rights supporters including Joanna Lumley, Brigitte Bardot, Judi Dench and Ricky Gervais have attacked the EU over its failure to prevent baby elephants being “snatched” from the wild to be put in zoos.

The bloc is expected vote against a proposed ban on transfer of the animals to zoos around the world.

In a letter appealing to Jean-claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, they say: “It would be obscene for the EU to endorse snatching wild baby elephants and condemning [them] to captive misery.”

Other signatories include Pamela Anderson, Bryan Adams, actresses Jenny Seagrove and Virginia Mckenna and the TV presenter Nicky Campbell.

They explain that elephants are highly social and often die in transit or shortly after they arrive at zoos. Evidence has emerged of elephants languishing alone in China, they add.

For a ban to pass, two thirds of countries must vote for it at a meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which began on Saturday. A preliminary vote showed that 46 countries were in favour, with 18 against. The EU, which represents 28 countries, did not take part but has spoken against the proposed ban, which it says would restrict African attempts to control elephant populations. The US voted against.

Elephants in Zimbabwe and Botswana are protected against trade under an international convention, but live elephants may be exported to “appropriate and acceptable” destinations.

Over the past 20 years, almost 200 mainly young elephants have been shipped from southern Africa to facilities predominantly in China.

The letter reads: “The world has been shocked to see distressing video and photos of terrified baby African elephants being rounded up.”

Elephants, it adds, are abused horrifically during capture and “suffer tremendously in captivity”.

“We call on all EU environment ministers and the Finnish presidency … to reflect the position of the majority of African elephant range states, the great majority of EU citizens, and leading elephant experts and support” the ban.

The letter was organised by Humane Society International.