PETA to storm DA for Mali's transfer

MANILA, Philippines - Members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia will deliver Tuesday, June 15, a copy of an online petition containing the signatures of over 60,000 people from around the world to Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, demanding the immediate transfer of an elephant, Mali ,from the Manila Zoo to an animal  sanctuary in Thailand.

"Mali has been locked up in what amounts to no more than a prison for 35 painful years. The international outcry for an end to Mali's loneliness and suffering grows louder with each passing day...Now, it's time for Secretary Alcala to take action," PETA Asia Campaigns Manager Rochelle Regodon said.

Regodon said Mali is denied everything that's natural and important to her.

In a sanctuary, however, she would have hectares in which to roam, rivers and ponds to bathe in, and the crucial company of other elephants, Regodon added.

A growing number of elephant experts, including world-renowned veterinarian Dr. Henry Richardson, who in June determined that Mali suffers from potentially fatal foot problems, are calling for Mali's transfer to a sanctuary.

The Earth Island Institute, the Humane Society International, the World Society for the Protection of Animals, and other organizations have come out in support of transferring Mali.

President Benigno Aquino III also has issued a directive to consider Mali for relocation to a sanctuary.

PETA Asia said Mali's transfer has also received high-profile international support from such notables as French film legend Brigitte Bardot, wildlife conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall, and author J.M. Coetzee, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature. - Dennis Carcamo