Mina and Kamala: will the end of the tunnel be in sight soon?
One Voice leads a nonviolent fight to defend animal rights and respect all life forms. The organization operates independently and is thus free to speak and act freely.
We have multiplied our actions so that these two Asian elephants, exploited by the Medrano circus, can be retired. We finally see the hope of obtaining their transfer to a sanctuary. But their separation must be avoided at all costs! It is together that they have survived so far, they will never be able have a taste of peace without each other!
Mina and Kamala can’t take it anymore… After thousands of kilometres and gruelling acts when the Medrano circus takes them on tour, bored to death when the troupe exhibits them at its technical base in Aimargues, the two elephants captured in Asia need to find a taste for life again. Now more than fifty years old, they have spent most of their lives under the rule of humans as cruel as they are ungrateful.
“Early retirement.”
By fighting for these unfortunate people, we have managed to gradually bring the authorities to their knees. Thus, at the end of 2019, we succeeded in getting the Prefecture of Gard to recognize their old age and declare them in “a period of pre-retirement in view of the definitive retirement which should take place in the coming months”. For its part, the Côtes-d’Armor prefecture had also admitted, in the decree on the 21st June last year, that Mina and Kamala were now elderly and had drawn the consequences. The text requires in particular a limitation of their movements, their exclusion from one-day tours and the obligation, except in the case of a Prefectural derogation, that they remain 7 days in a row at the same location.
No half measures!
Even if we welcome these few advances, we can’t be satisfied with them! They are simple “small measures”, very unsatisfactory in view of the physical and psychological distress of elephants. These poor beings are still subject to stress, boredom and transportation, which is the cause of enormous damage to their joints. For this reason, we challenged the decree allowing their exploitation before the administrative court of Rennes on January 8th, because it is their proper retirement that we demand!
Concerns
In addition, the crucial question of where they are placed arises. Who will decide? We fear that they will suffer the same fate as Lechmee, which we are categorically opposed to. As a reminder, Mina and Kamala’s former girlfriend landed in December 2018 in a centre in Britain, far from her lifelong friends. Since then, we have had practically no news of her! The operator had long refused her retirement, arguing that she should not be isolated from her two companions. Our consulting veterinarian, Dr. Yaduraj Khadpekar, recommended “that everything possible be done to ensure that the three elephants are not separated, but rather rehabilitated together”. In the end, the director of the Medrano circus decided otherwise, preferring to get rid of Lechmee and keep Mina and Kamala, with an obvious disregard for their well-being.
No, to a final and fatal blow!
The drama has gone on long enough! Mina and Kamala must be transferred to the same sanctuary. We are also doing everything we can to ensure that Lechmee will be able to join them there in the long run. While the 23rd UN resolution recognises that elephants have their own culture, which must be preserved (by promoting its transmission from one generation to the next, avoiding human disturbance and encouraging research), it is unacceptable to think of making three individuals who are so united and sensitive suffer until their last breath. Lechmee, Mina and Kamala were able to endure the worst thanks to their extremely strong bonds. To tear these siblings apart would be like breaking their hearts. Definitely.
Help us free Mina and Kamala from the circus by continuing to sign our petition to reach 100,000 signatures!
And demand that they and Lechmee finally be reunited in a sanctuary adapted to their needs by writing to the Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition, you will find a model letter here.