USDA confiscates elephant

okapikpr said:
Ned, a young Asian Elephant born out of the Roman Schmitt elephants, was confiscated from a trainer Lance Ramos for failure to comply with the Animal Welfare Act. Ned will temporarily be relocated to the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, TN while a permenant home can be found.

Press Release from The Elephant Sanctuary
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Hi Okapikpr, the above link describing The Elephant Sanctuary. Why can't Ned stay there? Live out the rest of his life in peace? This is why the place was built so the article says.

Poor Ned.....
 
The Elephant Sanctuary was built for female elephants, they dont allow males. I was actually surprised to hear that the sanctuary took Ned...they didnt even take Nickolas from the Hawthorn confiscation. He was sent out to PAWS original elephant facility in Galt, CA.
 
I hope they find him a good home.
 
I guess in the first plave if you had an elephant at an age like that you'd want to it to have a companion or use it for breeding, so getting Nic a pal would be great or maybe even the one a Little rock could take him in for Hank to have a friend.
 
You`re not seriously suggesting to mix two adult resp. semi-adult bull elephants, no? That would result in nothing but very dangerous fights. Bull elephants can be mixed if there is a big difference in age and strength, for example in Cologne Bindu (38 years old, more then 10 feet high) is coming along great with 9 year old Sang Raja who is half of Bindu`s size. That may change in the years to come, tough, as Raja grows bigger and stronger. But Ned and Nicolas (or Ned and Hank) are most likely too close in age and size to even consider introducing them!
 
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To set a few fact straight:
*As Yassa mentioned, it would not be a good idea to socialize two adult bull elephants
*However, Ned is castrated and may not pose a threat like "complete" bull elephants
*The Elephant Sanctuary will not place Ned into a facility for breeding...its not part of their mission for elephant welfare.
*Nicholas, being held at PAWS Galt, CA facility, has a companion also from the Hawthorn Corporation, a female named Gypsy.
 
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This press release is from PAWS: I saw a photo of Ned and he is one damn skinny elephant!!!

Plans are already underway at PAWS to expand the ARK2000 Bull elephant habitat.
On Saturday, November 8, Ned, a severely underweight 21-year-old captive born, male Asian elephant, was confiscated by the USDA. He was confiscated from a circus trainer for failure to comply with the Animal Welfare Act.

PAWS has agreed to provide a permanent home for Ned as soon as he is strong enough to make the trip to California. An expansion of the existing bull elephant barn and habitat at ARK 2000 will begin immediately. Ned will occupy the Galt sanctuary's bull elephant area until construction is complete in San Andreas.

Ned's history is as follows:

Ned was born in 1987 in Tampa, Florida, one of the few elephants born in captivity to survive into adulthood.

His parents were Josie and Vance, both captured as babies in Southeast Asia.

Ned and his parents were the property of elephant trainer and circus performer, Roman Schmitt.

Mr. Schmitt was manager of the Busch Gardens' elephant breeding program.

At the age of two, Ned was sold to a circus elephant trainer named Buckles Woodcock.

Ned performed in the Big Apple Circus.

When the Big Apple Circus removed elephants from their line-up, Mr. Woodcock transferred Ned to Lance Ramos, another circus trainer and performer.

Recently, it was reported that Lance Ramos and Ned were performing in California with the Royal Hannaford traveling circus.
PAWS was founded in 1984 to protect and provide sanctuary to abused, abandoned and retired performing animals and captive wildlife. The 2300 acre ARK 2000 Sanctuary was constructed in 2002.
The Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) has lobbied USDA and Congress since 1987 to end the use of elephants in traveling shows.
 
I just received the news-letter from the sanctuary. Probably others here at the forum subscribes to it, as well. I will refrain from enclosing the picture of this starved 21 year old bull - ONE TON UNDERWEIGHT....

Just a quote from the letter from the good people at the sanctuary:

"Once inside the barn, Ned immediately started eating the grass hay placed in front of him and nearly 3 hours later, he was still calmly shoveling hay into his mouth"

Also, I probably shouldn´t tell you what I would like to do with the people resposible for his condition...
 
@Dan: I copied and pasted the press release from PAWS in the post just before yours, and I agree 100% with your thoughts. Maybe a bullhook could be strategically used on the previous owner of the elephant...
 
snowleopard said:
@Dan: I copied and pasted the press release from PAWS in the post just before yours, and I agree 100% with your thoughts. Maybe a bullhook could be strategically used on the previous owner of the elephant...
Click to expand...

Popcorn park, the humane societies exotic animal sanctuary here in NJ have facilities for a single bull elephant and no elephant last time i was there (late last year)
 
God bless you, snowleopard, but my punitive measures would go far beyond that!
But I guess we would have to conduct such a discussion to some other type of website, so...
Though thanks for taking part in my outrage!
 
Well its good that he has found a home to go to, poor guy that much underweight is terrible. Being 80kgs is the average man's weight, presuming that Ned's correct weight should be around 5 tons, ( based on adult bulls, though he is an adolescent)
So a human Ned would be 64kgs ( 16kgs underweight) with me I'd be 33kgs! gah,!

Sorry if the math lesson was boring.,
 
Wow...that's so unbelievably sad. I couldn't even imagine what an "underweight/emaciated" elephant would remotely resemble until I saw that photo...I hope he finds a good place soon.
 
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