https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/24/young-elephants-flown-zimbabwe-s
ecretly-removed-national-park/

.  Roland Oliphant, SENIOR FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT
24 OCTOBER 2019 . 4:38PM

Three dozen baby elephants at the centre of a controversy over the sale of
wildlife to Chinese zoos have left Zimbabwe after they were loaded secretly
onto a cargo flight, the Telegraph has learnt.

Thirty-two of 37 young elephants were removed from a holding facility in
Hwange National Park in the early hours of Thursday morning and loaded onto
a Saudia Cargo jet at Victoria Falls airport in the afternoon, sources close
to transfer said.

Five of the elephants were rejected, apparently for health reasons.

The Zimbabwe National Society for the Protection of Animals, the national
animal welfare agency, confirmed the reports but said its inspectors had
been denied access to the elephants to check on their welfare.

“Inspectors on the ground have confirmed that an unknown number of elephants
were loaded at Victoria Falls airport. The destination and of which is
unknown. The buyers are unknown and the condition of the animals are
unknown,” a source close to the society said.

“The airport was on lock down. There was  no transparency and it was
very secretive,” the source said.

Zimbabwe is home to more elephants than it can sustain CREDIT: CEDAR TREE
MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS LTD The young elephants, who are believed to
have been forcibly separated from their parents in the wild, have been at
the centre of a legal battle since footage of them being held in pen in the
Hwange national park emerged in February.

Wildlife activists say the group have been sold to a Chinese safari park,
and have warned that the sale might breach Zimbabwean law because details of
the deal, including the price, the customer, and the animals’ final
destination have not been made public.

The People and Earth Solidarity Law Network, a Zimbabwean NGO, filed a
lawsuit demanding the government release details of the sale of the
elephants in May.

The case has yet to go before a judge, and last week the group warned the
Zimbabwe National Parks Authority that any attempt to export the elephants
before the case was resolved would amount to contempt of court.

Zimbabwean wildlife activists who mounted a legal challenge in an attempted
to block the export said the move amounted to contempt of court.

The ZNSPCA, the equivalent of Britain’s RSPCA, opened legal proceedings
against the Zimbabwe National Parks authority after inspectors were denied
access to the holding pen last week.

The Telegraph understands the group is now seeking a High Court order to
force Zim Parks to grant inspectors to the elephants that were reportedly
left behind.

Tinashe Farawo, a spokesman for Zimbabwe National Parks, said he was not
aware of the transfer.

Additional reporting by Peta Thornycroft