Baby out of the wagon but still being exploited

Could Gilbert Bauer have undergone an epiphany? Baby’s keeper seems have retired her from a life on the road. Even better: he has installed her in a vast park at Sury-aux-Bois with a huge enclosure and a swimming pool in the midst of nature, near Orléans, in the Loire. The site is a sort of Noah’s Ark in which the elderly elephant is supposed to live happily ever after now she’s out of her wagon. Just imagine – she even invites you to ‘pay her a visit at the Parc Animalier‘ to share her happiness.

Fine words

But don’t be fooled:  appearances are deceptive.  The land belongs to Muriel Bec, a well-known animal trainer.  Despite a tempting programme and special deals for families and despite the exhortation on the website to ‘Get to know her in order to give her more love and protection‘ and the statement that ‘Our aim is to enable you to discover how she lives in complete freedom‘, Baby continues to be exploited.  The poor elephant is in fact now used to attract tourists, who are encouraged to accompany her as she walks ‘among woods and meadows‘, feed her and swing on her tusks, with no regard for the most elementary safety precautions and thus causing a risk both to the public and to the elephant.

Temporary ‘solution’

Is this really the kind of ‘distraction’ that the old lady – who has been subservient to humans since babyhood – needs for her old age? Of course not! She is infirm and has suffered quite enough indignities during her sad life. Enough is enough! She must be given a home in a refuge worthy of the name where she can enjoy her retirement and, at long last, the company of other elephants – away from the clutches of Gilbert Bauer, who still, currently, owns her. He doesn’t fool us! He sent Baby to Muriel Bec only because we put pressure on him. We are convinced that he is trying to create a temporary smokescreen in order to have a better chance of getting his victim back later. He used this kind of stratagem a few years ago: his plan was for Baby to remain in Varès, in the Dordogne, then he finally sent her to his brother at the Parc Saint Léger animal park, near Beauvais, in northern France. In fact he got into the habit of moving because of our complaints. And the same thing happened in the case of the elephants Maya and Lechmee, who were transferred well away from the circuses following our campaigns but without us being able to ascertain that they are well cared for.

Fresh complaint

This has gone on far too long! We are upholding our complaint against Gilbert Bauer for the acts of cruelty that he perpetrated on Baby by confining her to a trailer.We are also lodging a fresh complaint with the French Office of Biodiversity (OFB) for illegal exploitation. Then there is the matter of keeping an animal belonging to a protected species without official documentation. (Baby was not identified until 2016.) In view of the gravity of the offences and the repeated breaches of safety regulations we are applying for the elephant to be seized immediately. Our association has found a home for her in an accredited French refuge and all the logistics required to carry out the operation are in place. In the meantime please continue to sign our petition for her.