2023-08-17 15:02:36
Au Vietnam, the fate of two elephants is moving and scandalizing the whole country. At the Hanoi zoo, Thai and Banang, 60 and 70, live in chains in a tiny enclosure surrounded by electric wire.
Their sad daily life has moved animal rights organizations demanding the release of pachyderms in a natural park. The petition launched by the associations has already collected nearly 70,000 signatures. But this Wednesday morning, the two elephants were still chained in their enclosure while zoo keepers fed them grass and sugar cane.
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An “illogical” transfer according to the director of the zoo
“Elephants are animals that can be fierce,” said an anonymous zoo employee. With a broken electric fence, you have to chain them. Unconvinced, activists from Animals Asia sent a letter to the authorities in Hanoi asking for the transfer of the elephants to the jungle of Yok Don National Park. The petition launched in early August is the initiative of another association, Vietnam Animal Eyes.
For his part, the director of the zoo considers these requests “illogical”. ” [Les éléphantes] have been in our zoo for over a decade,” he told state media. “They would die if they were to be released into the wild, as they are unable to find food or protect themselves. »
According to environmental protection groups, the population of wild elephants in Vietnam has fallen from around 2,000 in 1980 to around 100 in 2022. The number of domesticated elephants has also fallen, from 600 in 1980 to 165. Today.
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