On Conservation

The battle for our planet!

World Elephant Day 2020!

Posted on Author Srihari YamanoorPosted in Conservation, Continent - Africa, Continent - Asia, Elephants, Petition, Politics, Wiki, Wildlife, ZoosLeave a Reply

[Just a quick update! After I posted this, I got an update from another Change.org petition, stating that Suman, another elephant has been rescued and is safe!!! Yay! Link at the bottom!]

It is remarkable that another year has passed. Though last year, I didn’t have the opportunity to post to mark the occasion, I did commemorate the event in private. World Elephant Day, recurring every August 12th is our one day to focus even more energy on our gentle pachyderm friends, who are always endangered, whether in Asia or Africa in their natural habitat, or suffering further humiliation in unnatural environs, caged and mistreated elsewhere.

In this post, I want to highlight a couple of efforts people have engaged in, to help elephants.

  1. Happy and the Nonhuman Rights Project

Happy is the name of an elephant, who is anything but. The Bronx Zoo, which like most zoos is a prison for animals, has her trapped, without a companion, in a very small habitat. You can read about her story in the story shared in the references section. While she is a symbol of the Nonhuman Rights Project, a great nonprofit I support, that is hardly cold comfort to her. I worry that her chances of ever finding a modicum of freedom, to roam about in a sanctuary, with potential companions are next to nil.

It is incredibly sad that in this day and age, we treat wild animals like owned objects and show them no kindness or mercy. To read more about the project, their fight to get animals the rights they deserve, and to help them, please visit the link in the references section.

2. Raju is free! 

A few years ago, Raju, a shackled, ill-treated elephant in India became a cause of much agony and protest for many of us. One of the most remarkable successes of change.org and others trying to promote the rights of animals to live free, this July, I was moved to tears to learn, that 6 years since, Raju is still free, free of chains, living as happy a life as a formerly captive, traumatized elephant can be! Elephants have excellent memories, so I wonder. But, I also hope, he is happy. A link to his story and the campaign is also available.

What can we do to keep helping?

In conservation, there are big steps, and then there are small steps. Adding them up is the best way to proceed. So here are a few thoughts:

  1. Be aware. Educate ourselves, and educate others. The more we learn about how what we do affects nature around us, the more we can change our own behavior.
  2. Support causes. There is a grim case of 278 unexplained elephant deaths, that don’t appear to be related to poaching, but nevertheless represent a huge, unsolved mystery. I am attaching the petition for your review. The more petitions we sign, the more we understand and support campaigns, the better.
  3. Stay off ivory trade, or trade in any animal parts. Do not buy exotic pets. In fact, pets should not be purchased. Every single pet I have ever had, has been a rescue. This is a very important principle! From pets to wild animals, we should stop encouraging breeding and businesses that engage in such activities.
  4. Oppose trophy hunting. In the past few years, in the US, things have taken several steps back on this count. Hopefully, in the future, things will change again. But as individuals, refuse to participate in trophy hunting of any form.
  5. Zoos need to go the way of animal circuses. They trap animals permanently, like the Bronx Zoo with Happy, in unnatural environments and with cruelty foist hundreds upon hundreds of visitors on them. There are even zoos that unethically kill animals, making all kinds of bizarre excuses. Do NOT visit zoos, unless they solely engage in rehoming animals that can no longer survive in the wild. Otherwise, donate the money you would spend on the zoo to a good cause. In a few decades, we should see the closure of all but the most useful zoos – the ones that are useful primarily to the animals they rescue, not us.
  6. Engage only in ethical tourism. Absolutely NO elephant rides! Horses love rides. Elephants don’t. Moreover, elephants who are forced into such labor have a miserable life. This is absolutely unacceptable! I have linked an archived article on the plight of India’s riding elephants. I have also linked another petition regarding an investigation of elephant abuse in Mason Park in Bali, Indonesia.
  7. Follow the general principles of sustainability as much as possible. Everything in the human supply chain ultimately affects all life on Earth. The less we consume, the less we tend to damage the planet around us. Elephants, for instance, are affected by the unbridled expansion of agricultural activity in South India.

These are just some of the principles we could adhere to. Ultimately, it is simple. Be aware, be kind and gentle to the planet and everything on it. Our pachyderm friends and others, require independence and solitude to go about their role in the ecological ensemble that is Planet Earth! Happy World Elephant Day!!!

References:

  1. Cover Image, courtesy of Harvey Sapir via Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/wildlife-photography-of-elephant-during-golden-hour-1054655/
  2. Happy and the Nonhuman Rights Project: https://www.nonhumanrights.org/litigation-2/
  3. The Atlantic on the Nonhuman Rights Project: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/12/happy-elephant-personhood/578818/
  4. Raju, one of our bright spots! https://www.change.org/p/keep-raju-the-crying-elephant-free/u/27213398?cs_tk=ApzPr3payPiCAIhpB18AAXicyyvNyQEABF8BvB5KLsLJhHp3DNnUd3kRNnE%3D&utm_campaign=0c10bd819be34b8cb42e958a99391666&utm_content=initial_v0_4_0&utm_medium=email&utm_source=petition_update&utm_term=cs
  5. The plight of riding elephants in India: https://ladyfreethinker.org/battle-free-indias-riding-elephants/
  6. A petition exhorting the resolution of the mysterious deaths of elephants in Botswana (just updated by the petitioner today): https://www.change.org/p/restore-anti-poaching-units-to-prevent-future-elephant-poaching-in-botswana/u/27463567?cs_tk=AqGR75CXyPiCACoIMF8AAXicyyvNyQEABF8BvNZdp8OqTLHZueRHL_E3HDM%3D&utm_campaign=88ad3894e54d47d5bd4326d5ea40298a&utm_content=initial_v0_4_0&utm_medium=email&utm_source=petition_update&utm_term=cs
  7. A petition exposing and urging end of elephant abuse in Indonesia: https://ladyfreethinker.org/mason-elephant-park-in-bali-cruelty/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email
  8. Suman is safe! https://www.change.org/p/gvreddy-ifs-forest-rajasthan-gov-in-help-us-save-little-suman-the-elephant-and-reunite-her-family/u/27504894?cs_tk=AlhoccTEyPiCAKsAOF8AAXicyyvNyQEABF8BvGWQH15KnOcPpTu1QzNGors%3D&utm_campaign=0610c89cdebb4640b92adec3383e1f44&utm_content=initial_v0_4_0&utm_medium=email&utm_source=petition_update&utm_term=cs