Ban Animal Trading refuses to submit to Joburg Zoo’s ‘bullying tactics’
SAXONWOLD – Joburg Zoo have issued Ban Animal Trading and the National Council of SPCAs lawyers letters requesting that they remove the 'defamatory' Facebook posts regarding the zoo's World Elephant Day celebrations.
Ban Animal Trading (Bat) said that they are not backing down after receiving letters from the Joburg Zoo’s lawyers requesting that they issue an apology for alleged defamation of the zoo through posts on Facebook following World Elephant Day.
The Joburg Zoo hosted an event on World Elephant Day which coincided with Lammie’s 40th birthday, where they invited people to visit the zoo for free and experience the trumpeting and rumbling of an African elephant, amongst other things.
Ban Animal Trading posted a video of what they believe to be distressed elephants at the zoo and two other posts on Facebook showing elephant Mopani ‘being coerced’ to perform tricks for media at the zoo, which they believe to be abusive. The NSPCA had also posted on Facebook, comparing the actions of the zoo to a circus.
The zoo’s lawyers issued a letter to Bat stating that their posts were ‘not only untrue, baseless, wrongful, vindictive and wholly irresponsible, but defamatory’. Public relations officer at the NSPCA Meg Wilson said that the NSPCA did receive a lawyers’ letter, but cannot comment on it any further as the matter is in the hands of their legal team.
The lawyers, Moodie and Robertson, stated in the letter that the posts liken the zoo to a circus, insinuate that the zoo is incompetent, allege that the zoo is dishonest, allege that the zoo had created an inadequate living environment for the elephants and allege that the zoo is exploiting elephants, which Moodie and Robertson believe to be false.
The lawyers also requested an apology and withdrawal of the posts within 24 hours of receiving the letter, failing which an urgent application for the immediate removal of the offending posts and interdictory relief preventing Bat from further acts of defamation be issued.
Director of Bat Smaragda Louw said, “I’m not apologising for highlighting cruel, outdated issues. We will not remove the posts. This is a bullying tactic of the zoo who is trying to silence us. They have three elephants at the zoo in an enclosure which is way too small. I hope they feel ashamed. It’s pathetic that they would use taxpayers’ money to highlight cruelty to animals.”
Bat will be campaigning outside the zoo on 17 August from noon until 1.30pm and encourages community members to join them and bring flowers and a poster with a message for the zoo. Those who are unable to attend are urged to put together posters and send pictures of them to the Ban Animal Trading South Africa Facebook page, where they will be posted.
Spokesperson for JPCZ Jenny Moodley provided a statement by Bryne Maduka the managing director of Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo:
“The Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo resorted to seeking legal recourse as it has a responsibility to protect the reputation of the Joburg Zoo, by addressing the blatant and deliberate attempts by BAT and the NSPCA , to distort the facts of the proceedings of World Elephant Day hosted at the Joburg Zoo on 12 August.
The Joburg Zoo, would like to again reinforce that the day was hosted to highlight the plight of elephants particularly in the wild and why zoos, now more than ever are important to study and fully understand the challenges faced by dwindling elephant populations, globally.
Training, therefore, is an essential part of the Elephant Management Plan at the Joburg Zoo. It is undertaken to enrich physical and mental stimulation and as part of a cooperative medical management regime. Both Ramadiba and Mopane have been exposed to this training which involves elephants in their own management and medical care.
Benefits of the training helps ease stress levels; ensures continuity if previous training was undertaken; reduces the need to immobilise animals with the use of tranquilisers and sedatives, aids in moving animals to a safe area in the event of an emergency and helps with the immediate detection of any health concerns when requested to raise their feet, open their mouths, kneel, or lie on their sides. The training is reward-based to encourage participation; is optional; is limited to a few minutes; is not designed for ‘tricks’ or for ‘performance’ purposes and is certainly not punitive.
Any person with any knowledge of animal welfare, including the NSPCA should have known better than accuse the Zoo of mismanagement of its elephants as these are accepted norms and standards of animal husbandry, practised not only within a good-zoo environment but also within sanctuaries. Unfortunately BAT and the NSPCA who have no training in the management of elephants used the enrichment and behavioural talk to incite anger and provoke aggression on social media, towards the Joburg Zoo.
The Joburg Zoo remains steadfast in its mandate to act as an ethical institution that complies with all legislated requirements of conservation and education in the City, and calls on all residents to exercise care in the manner in which they consume and disseminate information by groups that have a clear agenda to distort the truth for their own gain.
The Joburg Zoo hosted an open day that was aimed at providing free access for the most marginalised child that was unable to afford a visit to the zoo. Feedback received from these schools indicates that children who immersed themselves in the talks and exhibitions now have a greater understanding of elephants.”
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