Independent investigation launched by One Voice to save them!
Five elephants, five tragic stories. For them, One Voice calls for freedom and launches for the first time procedures usually reserved for humans.
Five elephants, five tragic stories. Trapped in circuses, these animal persons need to be rescued urgently. For them, One Voice calls for freedom and launches for the first time procedures usually reserved for humans.
Lechmee, Mina and Kamala
Lechmee‘s permanent suffering, caused by a problem of stiffness in her forefoot which prevents her from walking properly, this is a particular concern. Her blindness is already a serious handicap, to the point that it is Mina who must help her to eat! She does not participate in the shows, unlike her two companions Mina and Kamala who, despite their advanced age, continue to be exploited. Dr. Pierre Gallego, a wildlife specialist, described the case of Lechmee as proven maltreatment and judged that the three elephants in this circus were in a state of physiological misery! According to him, it is “imperative to get them out of the circus to offer them a retreat in an environment appropriate to their species. Moreover, it is necessary to plan to keep these three elephants together because they have forged very important social ties whose survival depends. “
Samba et Maya
Two other elephants: Samba, for whom One Voice has been fighting for since 2005, as well as Maya, are both also in a desperate and urgent situation. They do not have in their respective circuses any comfort or enrichment to their lives. Their captivity and isolation makes their daily lives unbearable to the point that
Samba escaped in December 2013, jostling and killing in his wake a local person…
Elephants are animals for whom social and family ties are of extreme importance. According to a 1997 report by Drs. Gsandter, Pechlaner and Schwammer at the request of the Environmental Commissioner of Vienna, “because of their biological characteristics leading to highly developed social behaviour,
it is impossible for circuses to hold elephants under conditions in accordance with the needs of each animal.”
Animal Personhood
The Act recognizes that animals are sentient beings and must be held in conditions that are in keeping with their physiological needs. For One Voice, who has embarked on this reflection with Steve Wise’s Nonhuman Right Project, this is sufficient to recognize them as animal persons and grant them fundamental freedoms and, in particular, the right to live in accordance with their nature and their needs.
Two new procedures to save them
For Lechmee, Mina and Kamala, whose situation is particularly serious, One Voice therefore wished to initiate a special procedure in parallel with a standard procedure. Since their fundamental rights were clearly being violated, on 12 May the association filed an application for a referral of freedom with the Judge at the Court of referrals in Toulouse. This request is usually addressed to human persons whose freedoms are violated. But, for One Voice, these animal persons must also be able to benefit. Furthermore, the association has also referred the case to the Inspector in chief for freedom deprivation centres for them and for elephants Samba and Maya (as well as for the hippopotamus Jumbo). This move is usually only reserved for human prisoners, but justifies itself by the completely outrageous conditions in which these animal persons are being kept.
One Voice calls for an immediate transfer of Lechmee, Mina, Kamala, Samba and Maya to a sanctuary. And to put a definitive end to the exploitation of wild animals in circuses, the association has launched a petition for the annulment of the 2011 decree. Please
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