Raül Romeva i Rueda

El cas de l’elefanta Susi ha despertat, novament, el debat sobre la situació dels animals salvatges als zoos. No és dificil imaginar que un animal l’estat natural del qual és viatjar kilometrades i kilometrades, acompanyat de centenars d’altres exemplars, es trobi com a mínim deprimit en un entorn que no supera els 1000m2, i més si està sola. La situació dels animals salvatges en captivitat és cada cop més motiu de  controvèrsia. Per a mi és incomprensible que, en ple segle XXI, amb l’accés que tenim a la informació i les possibilitats tècniques que existeixen per tal de recrear hàbitats i donar a conèixer la realitat de la fauna i la flora d’arreu amb total immediatesa, seguim obsessionats en intentar reproduir-los artificialment. Ja de petit, per exemple, recordo el xoc que em va causar veure un elefant africà al costat dels pingüins. Es miri com es miri, no deixa de ser un contrasentit. En qualsevol cas, i tenint en compte que existeixen, hi ha una sèrie de requeriments mínims que cal reclamar-los i que, per altra banda, estan estipulats en diverses Directives europees. És per això que, a proposta de l’Organització Born Free Foundation, he presentat la següent pregunta a la Comissió Europea: (segueix…)

Written Question by Raül Romeva on Directive 1999/22/EC, reality to the keeping of wild
animals in zoos: the suitability of keeping certain animal species in zoos.

Article 1 of the Directive
1999/22/EC stipulates its objectives are to protect wild fauna and to conserve
biodiversity.

Article 3 of the Directive
1999/22/EC requires zoos to ensure their animals are accommodated under
conditions which aim to satisfy the biological and conservation requirements of
the individual species and by providing species specific environmental
enrichment.

Article 4, concerning the licensing
and inspection of zoos, stipulates that all zoos (as defined) are compliant
with the requirements of Article 3, and that the competent authorities, by means
of regular inspection, must take appropriate steps to ensure such compliance.

Recently published reports reveal
that there are serious problems facing elephants in zoos:

High mortality, low breeding
success, and a majority of animals suffering from physical and psychological
disorders, not seen in wild populations. Overall, the studies reveal that the
captive elephant population in Europe is an unsustainable drain on wild
populations, with one of the researchers labeling zoos as “consumers of
elephants”.

In my own constituency, Barcelona,
there is an elephant (Susi) kept alone in a 1000m2 concrete enclosure. I do not
believe these are appropriate conditions for an elephant that in the wild
travel vast distances and live in family units of up to 100 animals.

Although I recognise this is an
issue to be considered by Member States, will the Commission not acknowledge
that  keeping elephants in zoos may not be achieving the requirements of
as stipulated in Article 1 and Article 3, and that elephant welfare is
seriously jeopardise by their captivity in zoos?

How can the Commission ensure that
zoos are in fact protecting animal species and conserving biodiversity? Does
the Commission believe that individual elephants and their species benefit from
keeping them in zoos?

Foto: Susi. Font: El País