The Democratic Alliance on Thursday called on Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk to investigate why a permit was granted for the export of live elephants to a zoo, among other destinations.
DA spokesperson Gareth Morgan said a permit was recently granted by the Limpopo provincial government to export seven elephants to a zoo in Poland and an unknown destination in China.
This, he said, is in apparent contravention of South Africa’s policy and commitments to the Conference on the Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).
”…South Africa’s policy on trade in live elephants — in accordance with its commitments to Cites — is that the international trade in live elephants should only be permitted to formally protected areas that are free-ranging.”
The application for a permit was initially turned down by the Limpopo nature conservation department, Morgan said, but was recently approved by top management.
He said several elephants were also exported in May last year, according to animal welfare groups.
”It is therefore imperative that Minister Van Schalkwyk investigates the conditions of the permit in question as a matter of urgency.
”He should also state whether the country’s commitments to Cites with regard to the trade in live elephants has changed since 2000.”
On Wednesday, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) expressed concern over the future welfare of the seven juvenile elephants.
NSPCA spokesperson Rick Allen said the elephants were captured from the Ndzalama private game reserve in Limpopo and were taken to a facility in North West.
Allen said everything was being done legally and all the documents are in order. He said, however, that the zoos especially in China do not have a ”very good track record when it comes to animal welfare”.
”They [the elephants] are going from living in the wild to captivity. We are worried about their quality of life … It will be like someone going to prison, they will be pretty miserable.” — Sapa