Since my youth, I have been spellbound by the spectacle of nature and the wondrous array of species which call Earth home.
Every creature, large and small, plays a vital role in our ecosystems. Not least Asian elephants, whose numbers have collapsed in the past century.
Long designated as endangered, the species is now heading towards outright extinction in the wild, where they have always played such a critical role as a “superkeystone” species, nourishing the forests of south-east Asia which are crucial for the survival of thousands of species, including our own.
Poaching of Asian elephants, often babies, and their starvation, beating and torture to “break” them for tourist entertainment, is a striking, perhaps paramount, example
of man’s disruption of the natural order.
As the drumbeat of disaster sounds for Asian elephants, never has time been more pressing to act for this supremely intelligent and social species.
We have routinely broken marvellous creatures’ spirits for commercial exploitation. Now, a fighting spirit is needed to secure their future.
I am highly supportive of new measures proposed by Save The Asian Elephants that aim to protect the species from abusive tourism of the sort so widely promoted in the UK market.
STAE’s draft Asian Elephants (Tourism) Bill, requested by the Government in 2019, would ban the domestic advertising, promotion and sale of overseas “attractions” where elephants are abused for tourism.
STAE has identified almost 300 such venues currently being promoted in the UK by 1,200 companies. Self-regulation of the market has demonstrably failed over decades.
Such a law would provide compulsion rather than just encouragement. It will yield huge benefits, stemming demand for unethical venues and steering the market towards genuine sanctuaries and wildlife parks where elephants can be observed exhibiting natural behaviour in herds from a safe and respectful distance.
After years of concealment of the extent and depth of abuse, indifference towards this iconic species is now being seen as unacceptable. A situation where thousands of UK businesses profit from the most extreme abuse to any creature, let alone arguably the most iconic of all, reflects no pride upon us as a nation of animal lovers.
Huge public support is gathering. STAE’s petition, now far beyond one million signatures, is the largest in history for an animal species and reflects repeated large-scale polling from different sources over the past seven years.
Politicians and government must heed this extent of feeling and act. Now is their chance, with the Second Reading in the Commons on February 3 of the Animals (Low Welfare Venues Abroad) Act, which tracks the Asian Elephants (Tourism) Bill.
I have had the privilege of watching elephants in their range states across the world. The suffering of captive Asian elephants is extreme.
Man’s potential for good must trump our desire for monetary gain, for our and our environment’s good in the
long run.
I strongly urge our Government to support legislation to ban the cruel exploitation of and profiteering from this majestic, iconic species whilst there is still time.