Further to our December report on the 4 elephants exported to China, we have received an email from Animals Asia Foundation who claim to have a number of volunteers monitoring the progress of the elephants. They say that the 4 elephants arrived at the end of November 2012. Two went to Taiyuan Zoo, one of which has subsequently died. The other two reportedly went to Xinjiang Tianshan Safari Park. They sent us the photos below of the surviving elephant at Taiyuan Zoo. We are saddened and disgusted that these elephants have been removed from their mothers and the African bush to live alone in a cold unfriendly jail cell in a foreign country. We believe the temperature at the Xinjiang Tianshan Safari Park is less than 20 degrees Celcius below zero. It is highly unlikely the elephants will survive in the cold when they have been accustomed to temperatures of between 30 and 40 degrees.

There are apparently still another 14 elephants waiting to be exported and we have to try and stop this from happening. Please help us by spreading the word about this cruel and disgusting practise.

We have been told that a lady by the name of Candy has been involved in the exportation of the elephants. Her phone number is 27 826 768 968.

On New Years Day, 4 white rhino were killed by poachers on Thetford Estate in the Northern Mazowe District despite the fact that the estate is securely fenced and guarded. The dead rhino were 2 adult males, an adult female and a sub-adult male. Eight horns taken from the carcasses were recovered.