Animal rights activists call for a halt to the breeding of elephants in Zurich
Three elephants died in Zurich Zoo within a few weeks. Animal rights activists are now demanding that the zoo stop breeding elephants.
the essentials in brief
- With the elephant cow Ruwani, a third Zurich elephant died on Saturday.
- The Fondation Franz Weber calls for the end of elephant breeding in Zurich.
- The probability that a new calf will be infected with the virus is high.
On Saturday, Zurich Zoo reported the tragic death of a third elephant: after two-year-old Umesh and eight-year-old Omysha, five-year-old Ruwani also succumbed to the herpes virus.
The animals died within just a few weeks – the Franz Weber Foundation is demanding consequences. Specifically, the elephant breeding program in Zurich is to be discontinued, i.e. the animal rights activists. “Zurich Zoo should not try to breed more elephants,” President Vera Weber told Nau.ch.
Because: “The disease caused by the herpes virus is clearly not under control.” There is a high probability that every new calf will be infected with the virus, “with the consequences that have now been well proven”.
The illness and eventual death of the calf would also affect the mother animal and the other elephants in the zoo. For all of them, this means “unwanted stress and suffering”.
“Zoo Zurich unsuitable for these animals”
But not only the breeding should be ended according to the animal rights activists. Weber adds: “Similarly, Zurich Zoo should not bring new elephants into a facility where there is clearly an established herpesvirus population.”
And: “The deaths of elephants in this zoo show that it is unsuitable for these animals,” says Weber. She refers not only to the herpes virus, but also to other causes of death.
She states: “The best way to prevent the death of a young elephant like Ruwani would be to stop breeding elephants in zoos.” The disease is “still poorly understood despite years of research and drug development”.
Even after Omysha’s death, the Franz Weber Foundation issued a statement that elephants should not be locked up. “In fact, serious illnesses and deaths only occur in captive Asian elephants,” the Foundation said.
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Most herpesviruses in animals as well as humans would remain in the body for life. “Normally, an intact immune system keeps the viruses in check. However, if the body’s defenses are weakened after an illness, hypothermia or psychological stress, the viruses can become active again: with health-damaging consequences.”
It is precisely this psychological stress that elephants in zoos are exposed to – “with the correspondingly dramatic consequences”.
The situation at Zurich Zoo is less serious. The remaining elephants are no longer in the critical phase in terms of age. “We assume that the virus can no longer break out in them so easily. They are said to have all already formed antibodies.”
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