Zimbabwe ships live elephants to wildlife parks in China
Source: The Guardian
Zimbabwe ships live elephants to wildlife parks in China
Wildlife advocates said the animals, which were being
readied for shipment on Friday night, were unsuitable
for live export
Christina Russo and Adam Cruise
Friday 23 December 2016 19.43 GMT
More than 30 wild elephants were being readied on Friday evening for an airlift from Zimbabwe to captivity in China, according to wildlife advocates.
The founder of Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, Johnny Rodrigues, said on Friday that their plane was still at Victoria Falls airport because officials could not find scales big enough to weigh the animals, which were confined inside heavy crates.
But once that was accomplished, he added, “they’re gone”. Some of the elephants are reportedly as young as three years of age.
The live export of elephants is controversial, although legal. Wildlife advocates argue that elephants are do not belong in captivity and the practice of wild capture disrupts the social structure of their herds.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/23/zimbabwe-ships-live-elephants-to-wildlife-parks-in-china