Click photo to enlarge
Members of the public view Jumbo the elephant in The
Kensington pub car park in Dunedin yesterday as police talk
to Jumbo's handler, Tony Ratcliffe. Photo by Jane Dawber.
Jumbo the elephant stood swaying in the car park of The
Kensington pub, in Dunedin, yesterday, as a small group of
protesters, circus management and police played out an ongoing
dispute just metres away.
It was the 35-year-old four-tonne African elephant's tendency
to sway from side to side that is part of the dispute - the
Save Animals From Exploitation (Safe) campaign group says it
is evidence the animal is exhibiting signs of psychological
distress, while the circus says it is normal behaviour.
Jumbo was to have arrived at the Oval with the travelling
Loritz Circus for shows during Easter after being granted an
exemption by the Dunedin City Council from rules banning
exotic animals from council-owned reserves.
But lobbying by Safe changed councillors' minds, forcing
Loritz Circus management to strike a deal with the nearby
Kensington, allowing her to reside on land at the rear of the
car park, just metres away from where the circus was set up.
Protesters turned up at the site at 12.45pm yesterday,
prompting circus management to call police.
Safe Dunedin co-ordinator Genevieve Robinson said the group
had been handing out pamphlets when the elephant's handler,
Tony Ratcliffe, began "remonstrating" with them.
She repeated the group's asssertion Jumbo was tethered by a
chain around her foot which did not have a full plastic
covering between the chain and the animal's skin.
Safe wants the animal retired to a sanctuary, with a zoo in
Dubbo, Australia, suggested as a possibility.
Circus operations manager Markus Loritz said Safe had "no
knowledge" of the elephant, and the Dubbo zoo was not
interested in footing the bill for Jumbo to go there.
- david.loughrey@odt.co.nz
