you are all being ridiculous! ha! - i love how everyone suddenly jumps to the conclusion that they will walk some african elephants to the outskirts of delhi, slap them on the arse and shout "BE GONE NOW RAJA! YOU ARE FREE!" comeon! look, the simple fact is that elephants do suffer in all but the best zoos. and i'm gonna have a guess based on my limited experience with indian zoos - that most of those 26 elephant-keeping zoos and circus' in india are pretty aweful. those articles clearly state that the animals will be integrated into the captive herds in the countries national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. captive herds people - with mahouts to care for them. in my experience these animals have a plethora of natural food, social interaction and exercise. they breed well. the only thing that is questionable is the training methods and domination procedures of the mahouts. but this is part of a greater bigger picture and i'll assume its no worse than that inflicted on zoo elephants in india. india is a land of inconsistencies. it never ceases to surprise me. they have billions of starving people yet they can be surprisingly progressive. they have a substantial conservation movement. heres another example of a massively progressive and forward thinking position. so, since many of you opposed to this plan would probably complain about the quality of elephants in indian zoos should you visit... zip it! your bored local family of urban zoo elephants isn't in danger of being repatriated just yet. stop being ridiculous and be happy that these elephants will probably have a much better quality of life and better breeding opportunities.
