Early Christmas for five Tuli elephants

December 23 1999 at 09:13PM

Five elephants received an early Christmas gift on Friday as they were returned to the wild following a 17-month-long battle to win their freedom. The elephants will arrive at Marakele National Park in South Africa on Friday. 

The five African elephants were among 30 baby elephants captured from the wild in the Tuli area of Botswana in July 1998. Animal dealer Riccardo Ghiazza moved the animals to a facility in South Africa where he and his staff were training the animals to live in zoos. The training methods included beatings and deprivation. 

The National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA), under Executive Director Marcelle French, filed animal cruelty charges and fought for freedom for the animals. While the case wound through the South African courts, Ghiazza exported seven of the elephants to zoos in Europe. The NSPCA cared for the remaining 23 and has found homes for them in national parks and private reserves in South Africa. 

HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) President Paul G Irwin praised the tireless efforts of the commitment of the NSPCA and the co-operation of the leadership of South Africa National Parks. 

"The many twists and turns in this case made the outcome uncertain until the very end," said Irwin. "The Humane Society of the United States is very grateful to everyone who made it possible for these animals to live out the rest of their lives in freedom."  

The HSUS assisted the NSPCA by providing financial, technical and moral support. An HSUS expert on captive wildlife consulted with the NSPCA staff on the care of the elephants and testified in the custody case. 

"These elephants would be in zoos throughout the world were it not for the determination of the NSPCA staff, who endured long hours in very difficult circumstances to care for these elephants," said Dr Teresa Telecky, director of The HSUS' Wildlife Trade Programme. "As we enter the next millennium, let the Tuli Elephant Saga be a reminder to us that elephants are very intelligent and social animals. To tear them away from their families and to subject them to chains and beatings merely to entertain us is wrong and should never happen again." - Sapa