South African native Dave
Matthews, vocalist and guitarist for the critically acclaimed
Dave Matthews Band, has sent a letter to Swaziland’s
King Mswati III, on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals (PETA), urging him to prohibit the capture
of 11 elephants, living freely with their herd in Hlane
Royal National Park, for shipment to the San Diego Zoo
in California and the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Fla. Matthews
has recorded a string of platinum albums since he started
the band in 1991 and produced the soundtrack for the film
Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony, due
to be released this month, which celebrates the role that
freedom songs played in the peaceful revolution that brought
about an end to apartheid in South Africa.
Why are PETA and Matthews trumpeting the elephants’ freedom? Captivity, itself, is prematurely killing elephants. At least 79 African elephants, most captured in the wild, have died in North American facilities since 1990, and not a single death was from old age. In fact, 95 percent never even reached the age of 40, far short of their 70-year life expectancy. The social structure of free-roaming elephant herds is extremely complex and can’t possibly be duplicated in captivity, even by the most well-intentioned zoo. Female offspring remain with their mothers for life, and males approaching maturity require the guidance and wisdom of older bulls in order to become well-adjusted adults themselves.
PETA has urged more than 60 accredited American zoos to implement a policy to ban captures of elephants in the wild and instead use their facilities to rescue needy elephants from cruel circuses and pitiful roadside zoos. No U.S. zoo has captured African elephants since the 1980s, when the species was listed as threatened—until now.
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