Friday, March 25, 2016

17 New Elephants in the US of A!!

Apparently, these elephants were scheduled to be killed to make room for other animals in their former home of Swaziland, so a few US zoos adopted them.

Conservationists complained that removing them from their natural habitat would be detrimental to their health and wellbeing, but I think killing them would be worse wouldn't it?

Also, apparently there's a drought in the region right now, and let's not forget that elephants are being slayed by the thousands by poachers for their ivory.


CNN reports:
Seventeen elephants flown out of Swaziland on a chartered plane are now in their new home country -- the United States. 
The elephants, from a game reserve run by nonprofit Big Game Parks, landed in Fort Worth, Texas, over the weekend aboard the cargo plane. 
Before their departure from Swaziland, the giant animals were sedated and loaded onto crates for the long flight. 
On arrival, five were transferred to the Dallas Zoo under police escort.
The remaining 12 are the newest residents of the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas, and the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska.
 
 The zoos defended the transfer, saying the animals were set to be killed to make room for rhinos at the Swaziland facilities. The country is also undergoing a drought. 
"It escalated to a rescue mission last fall due to this state-of-emergency drought," said Gregg Hudson, president of Dallas Zoo. 
In exchange for the elephants, the three U.S. zoos will donate funds toward the rhino conservation efforts at Big Game Parks.  
Conservationists have scrambled to stop the relocation, saying moving the elephants from the natural setting of the game reserve to zoos half a world away is detrimental to their health. 
The zoos have said the animals faced certain death at home and are better off in the United States. 
"There are those who would rather see elephants die than live in accredited zoos. We strongly disagree with that position," Hudson said. 
He said the Dallas facilities are spacious enough for the giant animals to roam and forage.
I am all for animals living in their natural habitat, but I'm fully on the side of the zoos on this one.

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