Both the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have articles on the failure of an appeal attempting to block eight Thai elephants from coming to Australia. I will paste the articles below. Life in zoos is particularly rough on elephants, and the purchase from Thai exporters raises its own ethical issues, given the horrifying treatment to which baby elephants are subjected in the breaking process known as Phaajaan. Please visit www.HelpThaiElephants.com to learn more about it and to watch a shocking video. And please let readers of the Herald and Age know about the industry they support when visiting Thai elephants at the zoo.
The Age takes letters at letters@theage.com.au
The Sydney Morning Herald takes letters at letters@smh.com.au and advises, "All letters and email (no attachments) to the Herald must carry the sender's home address and day and evening telephone numbers for verification. Ideally, letters will be a maximum of 200 words."
You can read ABC's 7:30 Report coverage of the issue at http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2005/s1526229.htm
Unfortunately the animal advocacy position was presented only in a single quote from Rebecca Brans of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, who said, "We believe it's wrong because there's no conservation benefit with stocking Australian zoos with Asian elephants."
It would be great if the show received some requests for more coverage, with some information on the issue and suggestions for more that would make persuasive interviewees.
One of my first media jobs was at the 7:30 Report -- and one of my tasks was to go through the comments and submissions, make some phone calls, and put together good story ideas. The more information and contacts provided, the easier it was to follow up.
And talking one of the reporters into watching the Phajaan footage could well inspire a story.
The 7:30 Report suggests that you can "Have your say on current issues and events in the 7.30 Report Letters section." You can post to the letters section at http://www2b.abc.net.au/730/letters/guestbook/
You can be sure the producers keep an eye what is up there.
Here are the newspaper articles:
Sydney Morning Herald
Wendy Frew Environment Reporter
December 8, 2005
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/home-and-hosed-133-jumbos-cleared-for-takeoff/2005/12/07/1133829664211.html
Photo pf young elephant being hosed down at http://tinyurl.com/9mnp6
Five Asian elephants could be winging their way to Taronga Zoo as early as Easter after an appeal by animal welfare groups to overturn approval to import the animals from Thailand failed.
The long-running saga of the Taronga Five, as the one male and four female elephants have been dubbed, was close to resolution yesterday when the Administrative Appeals Tribunal ruled, conditional on some improvements to the animals' enclosure, that the elephants could be flown from Thailand, where they have been in quarantine at Kanchanaburi, west of Bangkok, for 15 months.
Taronga Zoo will be back at the tribunal on Friday next week to prove it has improved sleeping and "mud wallowing" facilities for the elephants, but the zoo's director, Guy Cooper, said the improvements could be made "for virtually no extra costs".
The tribunal's decision was a blow for animal welfare groups that opposed the importation on the grounds that under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species it was illegal to import Asian elephants for exhibition. They described Taronga's plan, and a similar one by Melbourne Zoo to import three elephants, as a sham and a ruse for commercial purposes.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Humane Society International and the RSPCA said the elephants' welfare was their primary concern.
"Ultimately, a win for us is improved conditions for the elephants," said Rebecca Brand of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. "Whether they come eventually or not, what is clear is that as a result of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Humane Society International and the RSPCA appealing this decision, the elephants are going to get greater conditions out of it."
Taronga Zoo says it wants the elephants for educational and breeding purposes and plans to make them the stars of its $40 million Wild Asia rainforest exhibit in the heart of the zoo, complete with 200 new animals and more than 27,000 plants.
"We had been confident all the way along that a favourable review would be achieved," Mr Cooper said.
(END OF HERALD PIECE)
The Age
Posted December 7, 2005 - 5:34PM
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/zoobound-elephants-clear-imports-hurdle/2005/12/07/1133829652387.html
Zoo-bound elephants clear imports hurdle
Eight Asian elephants destined for zoos in Sydney and Melbourne will likely be allowed into the country following an Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) ruling that importing them from Thailand won't breach any laws.
However, the licence to import the endangered animals will be subject to a number of conditions to ensure their welfare, the tribunal said.
Today's decision follows months of legal wrangling between the federal government and animal welfare groups.
In July, the government approved the importation of the endangered elephants, which were raised in Thai camps, for a breeding and conservation program.
Five of them were to go to a new $40 million purpose-built enclosure at Sydney's Taronga Zoo, and the other three to Melbourne Zoo.
But animal welfare groups, labelling the importation illegal and cruel, called on the AAT to review the government's decision.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), RSPCA Australia and the Humane Society International (HSI) argued that national wildlife trade requirements had not been met, and that the zoos could not adequately provide for the elephants' behavioural and biological needs.
However, the AAT today decided that the zoos were suitably equipped to care for the animals.
"We have decided that the importation is not relevantly detrimental to the survival or recovery in nature of Asian elephants and we have decided that the importation will not contravene any relevant law," the tribunal ruled.
"We have decided that the import licences should probably be granted although this will be on a number of conditions and we will need to be further satisfied by additional evidence."
The elephants have spent more than a year in quarantine in Thailand while their fate is debated.
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Date: Wed Dec 7 15:56:15 2005
