Note to Editors: Attached please find soundbites in English here and Afrikaans here by Leanne De Jager MPL
• Welfare of Elephants at Johannesburg Zoo remains at risk
• DA supports relocation of elephants to a rehabilitation reserve in Limpopo
• Elephants’ need for space, choice and social bonds is not a luxury
The Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng urges the City of Johannesburg and Johannesburg Zoo to relocate three elephants whose welfare is at risk. This follows the Gauteng North High Court’s dismissal of an application to release the elephants, Lammie, Mopane and Ramadiba, from the Johannesburg Zoo to a suitable rehabilitation facility.
The application was filed by the Animal Law Reform South Africa and Chief Stephen Fritz. The court dismissed the case due to the legal basis of the application and the availability of administrative review.
Its dismissal does not oblige the City of Johannesburg and its entities, Johannesburg City Parks, and Johannesburg Zoo, to keep these elephants indefinitely. The DA has long supported relocating these elephants to a rehabilitation reserve in Limpopo, as was done successfully with Duma (formerly Charley) from Pretoria Zoo to Shambala in 2024.
The DA is calling on the City of Johannesburg and Johannesburg Zoo to commission a transparent, independent assessment of a properly resourced relocation proposal and ensure any transition addresses each elephant’s health, safety, social relationships, and lifelong care. This must be reported on publicly.
See photos here, here, here and here.
Elephants are intelligent, socially complex, and sentient beings. Their need for space, movement, choice, and social bonds is not a luxury. It is central to their well-being, and a technical outcome cannot eliminate it.
A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would prioritise the welfare of these elephants and ensure that they are removed from Johannesburg Zoo to a rehabilitation reserve where they belong.