COP 11, CITES, Nairobi, Kenya, April 10 – 20, 2000

Jumbo Thieves

A further concession of the 1997 elephant downlisting was facilitation of “export of live animals to appropriate and acceptable destinations.” The problem is that there is no clear definition of what an “appropriate and acceptable destination” really is. As a result, insidious animal dealers such as Riccardo Ghiazza can literally steal baby elephants from their mothers and transport them internationally for commercial gain.

According to the London Mail and Guardian, Ghiazza was recently arrested on charges of fraud and falsely obtaining South African citizenship when he allegedly failed to declare that he is wanted for a drug conviction in Italy. He is also the culprit in the Tuli elephant fiasco in which his company removed 30 baby elephants from Botswana and transported them to South Africa where they suffered beatings to “train” them in preparation for international transport to zoos and circuses abroad. The National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals brought cruelty charges against Ghiazza and after lengthy and expensive court procedures was awarded custody of the animals. Most of the Tuli elephants have been freed in national parks and private reserves in South Africa.