Bitter-Sweet Remembrance
Animal welfarists live in a world of paradoxes. On a daily basis we are confronted with the very thing that we so strongly oppose – cruelty to animals. The creatures we extend our compassion to are often the source of our greatest pain. All of our senses are brutally aroused when we encounter situations where other animals that share our planet are denied their liberty and treated with contempt. We feel their pain. We hear their cries. We see the fear in their eyes. And we are almost asphyxiated by the terror that fills the air when they are beaten and cruelly treated in our presence.
Such was the case with the Tuli Elephants – the 30 young babies that were ripped from their matriarchal herds and forced into chains, screaming their pain and defiance. We remember these individuals with fondness and have deep regrets that fellow humans found it fit to so unjustly change the lives of these elephants forever. But the situation endured by these 30 young pachyderms opened the eyes of South Africans and people in other parts of the world to the abuse that lies behind the capture and training of wild elephants. Their story laid bare the brutality that exists when wild elephants are forced to conform to the whims of people and perform unnatural acts that degrade and minimise their magnificence. The Tulis paved the way for the inroads that have been made in addressing the management of elephants in this country and the Norms and Standards that have been instituted by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. Every injustice they received has come back tenfold in defence of others of their kind.
We applaud the role players who had the strength of character to stand up and be counted during the entire saga that consumed our lives for five years. These include our own staff members, other organisations and individual members of the public. No part played was too small because every letter of support, every donation, every piece of expert advice, every bit of encouragement led to the successful prosecution of the case and a victory for the Tuli elephants.
MARCELLE MEREDITH
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
PS: Did you know that it takes 16,000 litres of water to produce 1 kg of beef - 1,000 litres of water to produce 1 litre of milk - 140 litres of water to produce 1 cup of coffee - 1,350 litres of water to produce 1 kg of wheat and 3,000 litres of water to produce 1 kg of rice?