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PETA Exposes Violent 'Training' Behind the Scenes at Hanover Zoo
Hanover, Germany – A new PETA video
offers a glimpse behind the scenes at Germany's Hanover Adventure Zoo,
where employees were caught using whips, bullhooks – weapons resembling a
fireplace poker with a sharp metal hook on one end – and even, in one
instance, a fist to force elephants to perform circus-style tricks to
entertain visitors. In response, PETA Germany has filed a complaint with
local law enforcement and is calling for an end to the facility's
elephant exhibit and breeding programme.
Elephant
expert Carol Buckley, who evaluated the footage, explains that the sole
purpose of this systematic abuse – whereby the trainers inflict pain on
adult and baby elephants for even the slightest perceived infraction –
is to teach them tricks and that it can lead to long-lasting trauma.
"No
zoo can provide elephants with the open space, freedom, and
companionship these highly intelligent living beings need in order to
thrive", says PETA Director Elisa Allen. "If zoos were serious about
protecting endangered species, they would ask the public to donate to
programmes that protect animals in their native habitats, rather than
turning them into living exhibits."
PETA
– whose motto reads, in part, that "animals are not ours to use for
entertainment" – notes that elephants are highly social animals who
thrive in matriarchal herds, protecting each other, caring for their
young, and travelling many miles a day. In zoos, they're confined to
small enclosures, causing them to develop arthritis and other foot
problems – which can be fatal – and to suffer from psychological
distress. Many captive elephants exhibit signs of zoochosis, including
repeatedly swaying back and forth. Their life expectancy is half that of
elephants in the wild.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.
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