MANILA: Sen Miriam Defensor Santiago yesterday called on the Senate to conduct an inquiry into the reported need to transfer Mali, the only female elephant in Manila Zoo, to a sanctuary in Thailand due to the animal’s frail health.
Santiago expressed concern after the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sounded the alarm for Mali, who has reportedly developed health problems due to her 35-year stay at the zoo without receiving proper care and condition.
In seeking for an inquiry, Santiago echoed PETA’s concern that it is extremely detrimental for a female elephant’s mental health and well-being because she spent all her life at the zoo.
Veterinarian Dr Henry Melvyn Richardson expressed concern over Mali’s health and living condition claiming that the elephant suffers from fatal foot problems, including chronic pressure sores on her feet, which are open to contamination; days’ worth of accumulated feces and urine in her sleeping quarters; and cracked nails and pads and overgrown cuticles, all of which can harbour bacteria and become infected.
Santiago also cited the statement of world known animal authority Dr Jane Goodall, “the Manila Zoo has failed Mali; not only is she suffering from isolation and captivity-induced foot problems; she has not even had basic blood work conducted in the three and a half decades that she has been in the zoo.”
Santiago is in favour of having the elephant transferred to Thailand because PETA officials have vowed to shoulder its cost.
The Philippine star
