I wish she would stop with the circus tricks already. I'm starting to feel inadequate.
"It's so very ironic, given the checkered history of drive-thru safari parks that this one has now become a home for seized elephants!!!!"
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Annie Update
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
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A further report on BBC TV 15th April in the UK, visited Anne at Longleat with Bobby and Moira Roberts.
The senior keeper interviewed before the Robert's arrived stated..."nothing phases her,when we unloaded her everybody was emotional, we were all on tenderhooks with an elephant turning up..she breezed it. The only one that was cool, calm and collected was Anne.
Interviewer:."What kind of condition was Anne in when she arrived?"
Keeper: I was surprised,probably the oldest elephant in Europe..so hats off to Bobby, to have an animal in this condition, ok she's got arthritic back legs, but you find me a sixty year old woman that doesn't have a few aches and pains.
"Her condition is great! For someone to get an elephant to this age and in this condition, they're doing something right."
Years of touring the UK and Europe no doubt stood Anne in good stead for her move.
The video footage of Anne's abuse has raised concerns as to it's credibility, however it is apparent that she has received a very high standard of care during her lifetime with Bobby and family.
I also note that despite claims that Anne would be given private time to settle into her new environment, there was a very steady stream of cars driving past her enclosure, less than two weeks after her arrival lol.
Rob,
The only issue I had with Annie's condition, which I was waiting for someone else to point out, was her extremely dry skin. The condition of an elephants skin and what is necessary to keep it from becoming dry, has historically been a major difference in opinion between Europe circus's and American circus's. I have always assumed it was just an alibi for not having a good source of water or place to bathe the animals on a tent show lot. In the Colonies, elephants are bathed with special soaps and water, oiled once or twice a year, scrubbed with wire brushes regularly to keep the skin supple and free of caked on sloughed on dead skin. Some of the worse, dry skinned circus elephants I have ever seen was a few years ago, when I was in Germany, and one's that have come here to live from England.
Three months ago I was touring the San Antonio Texas zoo, who a couple of years ago took in a "confiscated" circus elephant named Boo as a companion to their remaining elephant. I was with some folks who live in San Antonio who had no animal knowledge what so ever. As we were looking at the two elephants in the exhibit one of them said, "I wonder which one is the one from the circus?" I had no idea but I suggested the one on the left. They went and asked one of the keepers which one it was and he said, "the one on the left is Boo from the circus." They came back to me, and said "how in the world did you know which one it was? Have you seen her before?" I replied, "No, I have never seen her before, and was only guessing. But based on the condition of her skin, which was much better then the other elephant, and her better muscle tone, even after two years of standing and doing nothing, it was a good assumption that the one on the left was the former circus elephant." There are very few "confiscations", with the exception of some situations in third world countries, that are valid as anything other then a grudge war between the parties involved normally over regulated housing requirements. The charges of abuse/starvation/improper habitat leveled at circus/zoo elephants are nothing more then publicity bull shit fodder, for folks who don't know any better.
Wade
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