July 21, 1999

The Honorable Thabo Mbeki
President of the Republic of South Africa
Union Building
Private Bag X83
Pretoria, South Africa

Via facsimile to 011-27-12-323-2573

Dear President Mbeki:

Congratulations on your new office as President of the Republic of South Africa. Please allow me to call your attention to a continuing nightmare that I hope will be among the first problems you address as President.

I have been following the plight of the Tuli elephants-30 babies who were ripped from their families in Botswana and taken to a warehouse near Pretoria to be "broken" for sale to zoos and circuses. Heartless, money-hungry men ravaging Africa for its animals was something I thought was a thing of the past. Sadly, the capture, shackling, and repeated beatings of the Tuli elephants proved me wrong.

The tragedy of these babies is known worldwide. Cynical "conservationists" tried to argue that robbing the elephants from their families would help solve an overpopulation problem. All it did was bring the full weight of furious public opinion down on such operations.

As you probably know, the most recent footage of the babies being beaten by animal trader Riccardo Ghiazza's workers has ignited a storm of opposition. People who were once happily unaware of the realities of wild animal capture now know the suffering it causes all too well. Like me, they cannot remain silent. We are not only fighting for the 14 remaining babies, but for an end to the entire elephant trade.

I ask you not only to hear our pleas, but to listen to the cries of the elephants who have been so psychologically and physically traumatized by the events of the last 11 months.

I beg you to deliver the Tuli babies to the refuge and comfort of adult herds in South Africa. Once they are safe, please see to it that those who victimized the babies are finally brought to justice. Lastly, I ask you to protect and preserve your country's magnificent wildlife by banning the export of animals from South Africa forever.

Most respectfully,

Pamela Anderson Lee

Pamela has starred in anti-fur advertisements, campaigned against products tested on animals, and recently met with Prince Albert of Monaco to discuss the treatment of animals in the Monte Carlo Circus Festival.