The five juvenile elephants were part of the group of 14 elephants allegedly abused by a Brits plot owner provoked a countrywide protests after it was broadcast on television.

The other nine now belong to the National Parks and are being kept at the Marekele Game Reserve in North West.

Sunday's demonstration was organised by the Wildlife Action Group to prevent the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals from releasing the five animals to Saunders who bought them from African Game Services owner Ricardo Ghiazza.

WAG spokesman Clive Ramsbottom said the demonstrators wanted the elephants to be relocated to game reserves.

He claimed that although the one-and-half hour protest went smoothly, traffic police initially blocked the road into the property, near Hartebeesport Dam, in an attempt to stop some of the protesters from joining the action.

"They claimed that they were concerned about the safety of the public but finally removed the blokades after we spoke to them," he said.

Police spokesperson, Sergeant Erica Roos, however, denied traffic officers had interfered with the protest but were merely directing the flow of traffic.

"They must have erroneously directed some of the people wishing to join the protest to wrong directions, but that was quickly rectified," she said.

Ramsbottom said of Saunders: "We wanted to warn him not to take the elephants as he was shown on television to be an elephant abuser who personally beat them during their training."

Saunders has denied having mistreated the animals.

He is, however, prepared to sell the elephants for R2,7 million.