elephants being 'trained' by the travel company Shearwater Adventures. The
nine are the survivors of a group of 12 captured from herds in the Hwange
National Park in November 2006.
In a January 2007 press release, Shearwater insisted that the ZNSPCA's
claims that the elephants were being mistreated were untrue, claiming that
their training methods were 'willing relationship[s] based on mutual trust
and respect'. The ZNSPCA has consistently demanded that the company allow
them access to the elephants to test this claim. After legal wrangling, the
ZNSPCA were granted a court order for the inspection, which has yet to take
place after Shearwater refused access to their premises on the grounds that
the ZNSPCA had not obtained the assistance of vets named in the court order
at the company's insistence. The ZNSPCA point out that they have written to
these vets on more than one occasion but have not yet received any reply.
Shearwater has been operating in Zimbabwe since 1982, and offers a range of
activities in the Victoria Falls region, including jet-boating, helicopter
rides and whitewater rafting in addition to 'Elephant-Back Safaris'. The
company's website claims to be the 'leading adventure activities company in
Africa', as well as being 'ecologically sound' and 'in full compliance with
respective National Parks regulations.' Their January press release argued
that safaris were an excellent way to 'learn more about the elephant and as
a result take a greater interest in the conservation issues surrounding
them.' The company has strenuously denied the claims by the ZNSPCA that the
elephants captured in 2006 have been left in unhygienic and dangerous
conditions, pointing to three inspections by Government vets which gave
positive accounts of the elephants' condition.
The competing press releases by the ZNSPCA and Shearwater Adventures are not
helpful in establishing the condition of the elephants. The company has not
responded on its website to the claim by the ZNSPCA that another elephant
has died, nor explained why it has allowed three inspections by Government
vets but obstructed the ZNSPCA's inspection. - Jaime Ashworth
Source: SPCA battles Shearwater over elephants, The Zimbabwean (19/04/07) original article deleted.
Statement on the wild elephant capture by Shearwater (24/01/2007)
Shearwater statement on Hwange elephant capture (24/11/2006)
Outcry over capture of wild elephants (12/11/06)
More from this blog: elephant-back safaris
