In a major victory against the live animal trade, a South African judge issued an order permitting the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) to seize 30 baby elephants who were taken from their herds in Botswana and exported to South Africa by animal dealer Riccardo Ghiazza. Ghiazza reportedly planned to sell the elephants for $25,000 each to parks and zoos in Germany, China, Switzerland, and possibly the United States. Instead, the NSPCA will transport them to a park or ranch outside Pretoria for holding and veterinary care until an attempt can be made to reunite them with their families.

Since their August capture, the elephants -- who are between 2 and 6 years old -- have been kept tied and tethered in a makeshift warehouse. According to Simon Adams, a veterinarian who inspected the elephants, "They are being deprived of food and water to discipline them. All have wounds to their heads with pus running out of them from where they have been beaten and restrained."

The NSPCA sought South African court intervention based on numerous offenses and prohibitions covered under the country's Animals Protective Act of 1962, which states that an individual can be fined and Imprisoned if he or she confines, chains, tethers or secures any animal unnecessarily or under such conditions or in such a manner or position as to cause unnecessary suffering," or if he or she "unnecessarily starves or under-feeds or denies water or food to any animal."

In addition to this alleged violation of South Africa's national anti-cruelty statute, Ghiazza's action may be in violation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Botswana's elephant population was downlisted from Appendix I to Appendix II by the Parties to the Convention in 1997, thus allowing the transport of live animals without requiring a permit from the importing country. However, this transport can only occur if the animals are to be sent to "appropriate and acceptable destinations."

Ghiazza has appealed the seizure but has been instructed by the court not to remove the elephants. The NSPCA, elephant experts, and animal protection organization representatives are monitoring the elephants' condition until the court determines that they are healthy enough to be transported to a safe site. After rehabilitation, which may take months, the ultimate goal is to return the baby elephants to their families in Botswana.

Animals' Agenda Volume 18, No. 6, Nov./Dec. 1998, p. 9

Reprinted with permission from The Animals'Agenda, P.O. Box, 25881, Baltimore, MD 21224
http://www.animalsagenda.org