A campaign has begun to raise the roughly €120,000 needed to transport the first elephant due for quiet retirement at the sanctuary being prepared by Pangea non-profit organisation.
Available on the Gaia (voice of the voiceless) platform, the initiative has already raised over €34,000 and explains a little of what it is all about.
The elephant in question is Kariba – born 40 years ago in Zimbabwe – who has spent nearly every one of those years in captivity.
Kariba was shipped from Africa to Germany where she was ‘exploited by various circuses’, and in 2012 she arrived at Belgian zoo Pakawi Park.
It is Pakawai Park that, with Pangea, is now trying to raise the necessary funds to transport Kariba to nearest thing to the ‘wild’ from which she was snatched as a baby.
As the Gaia campaign explains, a journey of almost 2000kms implies costs – and on top of these, money will be needed for ‘travel snacks’, oral hygiene and medical/ podology care. (Just the latter has been estimated at €3000.)
Clearly this is not just about ‘transporting an elephant’, but ensuring that this elephant travels in style and arrives in tip-top condition.
GAIA describes the initiative as ‘the culmination of a long struggle for animal welfare’
Kariba is the last African representative of her species in Belgian zoos, and her departure, means she will finally be able to live ‘with dignity’.
Says the Pangea trust, also running a page on the campaign: “This transfer represents an important change in the way Belgium — and, more broadly, Europe — views elephants in captivity. It demonstrates that a better future is possible when institutions, sanctuaries and animal advocates join forces.’
Source: Gaia/ Pangea
