Third , offer them for sale to zoos and safari parks at a vast profit. That's basically what Riccardo Ghiazza, a South African based animal dealer, tried to do. He'd reckoned without the South African National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and a coalition of conservation and animal welfare groups world-wide including the Humane Society of the United States, The Sheldrick Trust, Care for the Wild and the Born Free Foundation. These 30 elephants are part of a massive legal battle which has at least prevented them from being shipped to zoos in China, Germany and Switzerland. Ghiazza, intent on protecting his investment, has promised to take this to the highest court in the land but we are ready for the fight.
Elephants have an appalling breeding record in captivity.
Elephants frequently die prematurely in zoos. And elephants often suffer acute mental distress in the captive environment. The battle to save these baby elephants from what many regard as a fate worse than death simply can not be lost.