****CALL TO ACTION FOR TANIA**** Hello Everyone, So we finally have a letter to the European Commission on behalf of Tanias case. The goal is to get the EC to upgrade the standards for the EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) so that they may either upgrade the standards at Targu Mures Zoo (where Tania is kept), or for Targu Mures to release her to a sanctuary that can meet her needs. The first step for us is to email and post this letter to Mr. Janez Potoknic, the European Commissioner for the Environment. Next week I will put this letter into a petition so that we can collect electronic signatures, as well as share on FB and Twitter. For now, you are all free to make out the letter that I will post below to the following address: Mr. Janez Potocnik Email: [email protected] Fax: 0032 (0)2 298 82 88 Post: European Commission B-1049 Brussels, Belgium Feel free to add some of your own words so that we dont look like a bee-hive of one mind. But email, post, and share this template with as many people as you can. The EC needs to know that we are together in this and that there are many of us. Here is the template letter for you to copy, paste, and customize if you wish: ATTN: JANEZ POTOCNIK EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR ENVIRONMENT EUROPEAN COMMISSIONB-1049 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM Subject: Upgrading the standards for the EAZA and European Zoos Mr. Potocnik, I am contacting you in regards to the EAZA’s current standards, particularly how they extend to the case of Tania, the lonely elephant held in solitary confinement at the Targu Mures Zoo. Advocates for Tania have contacted the EAZA, who have denied any wrong-doing in her case. Some Advocates have also contacted you, and although you have admitted Tania’s unhappy circumstances, you recommended that the Advocates turn to the zoo officials instead. But when we contact the zoo officials, they say that they are abiding by the EAZA standards, and when we contact the EAZA to upgrade their standards in order to improve zoo conditions, they respond that they are abiding by the EC’s standards. So you see, we are caught in a catch 22, and so we decided to turn to you again. It is undeniable that Tania’s situation is unhappy and below standard. This poor elephant is held in solitary confinement in a concrete area that is too small for her, where she was filmed to be standing and swaying in her own feces. Targu Mures Zoo claims that she can no longer be socialized into a herd because she is asocial, but our response is that if Targu Mures Zoo does not have the ability to re-socialize Tania or to provide her with the conditions that she needs, then the EAZA should willfully transfer her to an organization that can do that for her. And we do not want her to just be handed off to another EAZA approved zoo that again will fail to meet her needs. She has been passed on from zoo to zoo since the 1970’s, and no one was able to do what is right for her. If anything, they have driven her to a condition where in her middle age she is alone, depressed, and imprisoned in a cold climate and occasionally a concrete cell. She is lonely, lacking mental and emotional stimulation, as well as physical exercise, which has already caused foot ailments that in time will kill her. The EAZA has acknowledged this in a letter that they wrote on March 6th, 2014, that we can forward to you if you wish. In short, the zoo environment that the EAZA has put Tania in is shortening her life and making her miserable. Our position is that if the EAZA cannot insure suitable conditions for Tania, then we would like the new standards to consider some wonderful havens and sanctuaries that would be able to meet her needs. There are plenty of organizations worldwide that have demonstrated how to create wonderful and natural environments for retired, orphaned, and injured elephants that suit their biological predispositions. Some of these places are the Elephant Nature Park in Thailand; the Elephant Conservation and Care Center in Agra, India; the Shamwari Game Reserve in South Africa; and the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, USA. All these places demonstrate the natural environments that elephants ought to be kept in: wide open spaces, warm climates, and the possibility for the animals to wander around in packs of their own kind. We want to see Tania live in a place that meets such standards, and we can assist in helping the EC and EAZA find such a place for Tania. We want to see animals like Tania get the help that they deserve, and to live out the rest of their lives in happiness, freedom, and among their own kind. We are hoping for a pro-active response from you, because this is an issue that is very dear to us and we want to see changes sooner than later. If you agree that Tania’s situation is unhappy, then please advise what can be done to upgrade the EAZA’s standards so that a) zoo conditions get drastically improved for animals like Tania, and b) that they include sanctuaries for cases where zoos can no longer offer what is best for the animals. Thank you sincerely for your time, and we are all eagerly awaiting your response. Warmest regards, [First name, Last name]. [City, Country] [Date]
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 00:33:17 +0000