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The Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng fully supports the landmark court application brought by the EMS Foundation, Animal Law Reform South Africa, and Khoi Chief Stephen Fritz to secure the release and rehabilitation of three African elephants from the Johannesburg Zoo.

The elephants have limited shade, insufficient space, minimal stimulation, inadequate food quality and variety, and safety risks. This includes a recent incident in which one of the elephants, Mopane, was observed dangerously close to a gap in the enclosure while attempting to reach grass.

The applicants in the court case have already identified a rehabilitation sanctuary in the Limpopo province for their care. Judgment in this historic court case, heard in late May in the Gauteng High Court, has been reserved.

The DA Gauteng calls on the City of Johannesburg and the MEC for Environment, Ewan Botha, to stop opposing this application and to place the welfare of these sentient animals above institutional pride.

The evidence of successful rehabilitation speaks for itself. Duma, who spent 40 years in captivity as the last elephant at the Pretoria Zoo, was relocated to the same Limpopo private nature reserve and is now flourishing in the wild. Duma’s story is the most powerful argument the applicants could make.

Lammie, who is 47 years old and was born at the Johannesburg Zoo, has spent her entire life in captivity. Mopane is 23 years old, and Ramadiba is 26 years old and both were wild elephants captured for Elephant Back Safari Tourism before being acquired by the Zoo in 2019. The enclosure they share has been assessed by leading international elephant specialists as totally inadequate.

All three elephants have been observed exhibiting signs of psychological distress. The National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NCSPCA) resigned from the Zoo's Animal Ethics Committee in 2019 in protest at the acquisition of Mopane and Ramadiba. Thirteen globally recognised elephant specialists wrote to the Johannesburg Zoo in support of Lammie's release as far back as 2019.

The EMS Foundation and its co-applicants are not seeking a reckless release. Their plan is meticulous and evidence based. The programme is designed to allow Lammie, Mopane, and Ramadiba to progressively re-integrate into a natural environment where they can, for the first time or once again, give expression to their physical, emotional, and social needs as sentient, intelligent, socially complex animals. The legal application is grounded in the Constitution's environmental right and in applicable animal protection, welfare, and environmental law.

The DA has long held that animal welfare is an environmental governance imperative, not an after thought. A DA -led provincial government would not allow animals to live in inhumane conditions

Issued by Leanne De Jager MPL - DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Environment