Chimp & See Talk

Elephants in the Hannover Zoo

  • NuriaM by NuriaM scientist, moderator

    Hi everyone,

    some of you might have watched the "Das Erste" channel in the German TV last Tuesday. There was a report about how the elephants are treated in the Hannover Zoo backstage.

    The elephants there MUST perfom a show for the public, and for that they must be trained. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) managed to record some training sessions. Those videos show terrible and absolutely rejectable training practices made by the elephant keepers to the infants. This is what happens behind an elephant show and what the public can´t see:

    http://www.ardmediathek.de/tv/REPORT-MAINZ/Im-Hannoveraner-Zoo-werden-Elefantenkind/Das-Erste/Video?bcastId=310120&documentId=41981078

    Leaving aside the "sense of the zoos" debate, #Pugli and I would like to pronounce ourselves against any elephant (animal) husbandry that is not in accordance with their natural behaviour, against every barbarian and inhumane practices that lead to physical, psychological and emotional harm to the elephants, causing harassment, stress and trauma.

    I don´t know much more for the moment, but there will possibly be an interview to #Pugli in a near future (as a member of the EEG-European Elephant Group), where he will be asked about the Direct and Protected contact keeping systems with elephants in zoos, the use of bullhooks, the sense of shows perfomed by elephants, etc...I will keep you all updated.

    I just thought that I share it with all of you, and hope for a constructive discussion 😃

    Posted

  • Boleyn by Boleyn moderator

    It's a real sad and uncomprehendable story. Swiss TV broadcasted it too and I was and still am really shocked. I'd never thought that this still could be possible today in a so called modern zoo. The poor animals are not better off than any elephants in Southeast Asia used for touristic purposes and thus trained with painful elephant hooks and whatnot. And to top it all the management doesn't show any decernment!

    What a shame for Europe and the Hannover zoo in particular. 😦

    Posted

  • Batfan by Batfan

    I only speak a very few words of German (shame on me, I know!), so couldn't follow what was actually being said, but just to see the images of these magnificent creatures being made to perform such humiliating routines made me want to cry. What possible educational value can there be in seeing elephants do high kicks whilst balancing on a log !!!! If animals have to be kept in captivity at all (and there's another whole debate), then surely they should be allowed to live in as near natural conditions as possible, such as in a Safari park (and I have mixed feelings about even those), so that visitors get to actually learn about their natural, real behaviour. What a much more valuable experience this would be.

    .... and as for those training methods !!!!!!! Anyone who has ever taken a dog to training school soon learns that by far the best way of keeping your dog happy and motivated is through kindness, positive reinforcement and mental stimulation. OK, using fear-inducing techniques may have limited results but a dog that is happy and confident learns so much more than one that is cowed and frightened. I have no scientific evidence for saying so, but common sense would seem to dictate that it's the same for all animals.
    Apologies for the rant but this is something about which I feel very strongly.

    Posted

  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator

    Thanks @NuriaM for sharing

    The elephants are very lucky to have you and @pugli flighting for them!

    Posted

  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator

    This was posted on facebook today and is a pretty good description of the bad and the ugly of the situation: https://www.facebook.com/wildlifeatrisk/posts/1029192717215568

    Posted

  • NuriaM by NuriaM scientist, moderator in response to MimiA's comment.

    Wow!!!

    yes, it is the EEG-Statement, I´m very proud of it; Ingo (#Pugli) and his colleagues
    have been working hard these last days to formulate it properly.

    The EEG rejects the direct contact system and we (#Pugli and I) have been travelling to different zoos in Ivory Coast, Armenia, Georgia and even France to teach about the change from direct contact into protected contact. The problem is that there are still too many old school zoos that don´t want this change at all.

    Thanks for the link Mimi 😃 They´ve even translated it into English!

    Posted

  • ksigler by ksigler moderator in response to NuriaM's comment.

    Thank you for sharing this, @NuriaM. I think you put it perfectly when you said you were against husbandry "that is not in accordance with their natural behaviour." I think we humans forget sometimes that our behavior and how we expect non-human animals to behave is often VERY different than natural behavior. From elephants in a zoo to fish in a fishbowl, if we insist on keeping non-domesticated animals in captivity, I think we owe it to them to learn about and give them THEIR best, most natural life possible.

    Posted

  • squish5 by squish5

    wow almost 6 million views on facebook!! Really bad treatment of the animals/performers in that zoo/circus but with all the attention it could be a good time to put a stop to these shows. Any type of show has no place in a modern zoo. Shocking.

    Posted

  • vestigial by vestigial

    The zoo in Pittsburgh gave up their AZA accreditation because they didn't want to give up their direct contact with their elephants. I know the change is tough for both the keepers and the elephants but it can be done and I think protected contact is actually better and safer for both.

    Posted