"The state of Chile decommissioned Ramba, the Asian elephant , in 1997 which means Chile has been responsible for the quality of life until now. Ramba unfortunately continued working in the circus until august 2010 and presently Ramba is still in the possession of the Chilean circus owners. Ecopolis requested that Chile have the elephant examined by a veterinarian. The government of Chile accepted and Ecopolis brought their consultant Mel Richardson from the USA. Based on his evaluation, Ecopolis concluded that Ramba should be rescued from her owners. Ramba is still in possession of the same people that has exploited her for 14 years with no break. A few months ago, Ramba was "retired" but Ramba cannot perform half of the tricks that she used to do in the past.
The damage is done because the Chilean Agricultural and Livestock authority (SAG) that is responsible for Ramba abandoned their own legal obligations.
Nothing is being done and if left in the hands of the abusive circus owners Ramba could collapse (possibly die) during this winter if she is not rescued now! Ecopolis urges that Chile finally do the right thing with Ramba by placing her in better care and following the recommendations of CITES. The organization CITES obligates to protect the species that are under protection status, especially the ones that are in danger of extinction.
This instrument called "ankus", a metal bar and hook was used to force train Ramba. During her whole life was being told where to go and where to stand. The elephants have a tough skin but sensitive, in fact elephants are afraid of bees because they feel the pain of bee stings so they must feel a tremendous amount of pain when trainers use the "ankus."
At one point we thought that we were going to be able to take Ramba to a Sanctuary in Tennessee. However, the procedures that the sanctuary demands have not been completed.
Sadly Ramba was trained to perform circus tricks but the circus owners never gave her any medical attention. Therefore, Ramba has not been trained to even tolerate a blood test. Ramba does not have a medical record, nor sanitary certification and SAG has never requested any type of documentation even though they were supposed to be responsible for her health and welfare.
Now we face a situation that prevents Ramba from going to Tennessee and we are looking into options to sustain Ramba in Chile, at the Quilpue Zoo. This ZOO can help Ramba to begin recovering and seek treatment for the short term. Ramba will need to be trained in order to tolerate the clinical exams that she needs for her possible trip to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.
Florencia Trujillo
Directora
Ecopolis Disciplinas Integradas Santiago de Chile, Mayo de 2011.-
