Zimbabwe sent them. They did make money from exporting live elephants.
It would be better if the Chinese were working with zoos and international zoo organizations to bring the most humane outcomes to these elephants. The Chinese are very much aware of animal rights organizations. They covet the well being of the Panda, both, in zoos and in the wild.
All these elephants should be viewed as an uptick to the genetic viability of the species in captive environments. But, people need to be clamoring to help the Chinese better maintain these live elephants. They are very important. The international community can help China develop advocacy for live elephants over the idea of poaching for ivory.
The international community also needs to work with Zimbabwe to decide about their movement of young elephants. Those youngsters might enjoy a transplant into another group of elephants. There is the issue of acceptance, but scientists should already have clear ideas about that.
July 10, 2015
(Beijing) – China has imported (click here) more than 20 baby elephants from Zimbabwe, and activists have expressed concern about the conditions in which the animals will live.
The elephant calves arrived at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport on July 6, said Hu Chunmei, an animal rights activist. Other activists learned of the elephants' arrival from airport employees and a cargo company.
Saviour Kasukuwere, Zimbabwe's environmental minister, also told the Associated Press on July 6 that the animals had been shipped to China.
Activists had tried for weeks to stop Zimbabwe's government from allowing the export.
Zoos in Taiyuan, in the northern province of Shanxi, and in the western Xinjiang region imported four elephants from Zimbabwe in 2012, Hu said. One died shortly after arriving in the country and two others have not been seen in a long time.
Trade of elephants was banned under a 1989 UN convention that China signed. However, some recovering populations of the animals, including those in Zimbabwe, were listed as eligible for trade in 1997.
Officials in Zimbabwe said the elephant population in that country is getting too large, and they have been looking for buyers to pay US$ 40,000 to US$ 60,000 for each calf. It is unclear how much the Chinese buyers paid or who they are.
Animal rights campaigners around the world have said they are concerned about how the elephants were taken from the wild and kept in captivity. They also want to know how the animals will be treated once in China....
It would be better if the Chinese were working with zoos and international zoo organizations to bring the most humane outcomes to these elephants. The Chinese are very much aware of animal rights organizations. They covet the well being of the Panda, both, in zoos and in the wild.
All these elephants should be viewed as an uptick to the genetic viability of the species in captive environments. But, people need to be clamoring to help the Chinese better maintain these live elephants. They are very important. The international community can help China develop advocacy for live elephants over the idea of poaching for ivory.
The international community also needs to work with Zimbabwe to decide about their movement of young elephants. Those youngsters might enjoy a transplant into another group of elephants. There is the issue of acceptance, but scientists should already have clear ideas about that.
July 10, 2015
(Beijing) – China has imported (click here) more than 20 baby elephants from Zimbabwe, and activists have expressed concern about the conditions in which the animals will live.
The elephant calves arrived at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport on July 6, said Hu Chunmei, an animal rights activist. Other activists learned of the elephants' arrival from airport employees and a cargo company.
Saviour Kasukuwere, Zimbabwe's environmental minister, also told the Associated Press on July 6 that the animals had been shipped to China.
Activists had tried for weeks to stop Zimbabwe's government from allowing the export.
Zoos in Taiyuan, in the northern province of Shanxi, and in the western Xinjiang region imported four elephants from Zimbabwe in 2012, Hu said. One died shortly after arriving in the country and two others have not been seen in a long time.
Trade of elephants was banned under a 1989 UN convention that China signed. However, some recovering populations of the animals, including those in Zimbabwe, were listed as eligible for trade in 1997.
Officials in Zimbabwe said the elephant population in that country is getting too large, and they have been looking for buyers to pay US$ 40,000 to US$ 60,000 for each calf. It is unclear how much the Chinese buyers paid or who they are.
Animal rights campaigners around the world have said they are concerned about how the elephants were taken from the wild and kept in captivity. They also want to know how the animals will be treated once in China....
