Morrissey asks Aquino to free Philippine elephant
Rock icon Morrissey called on Philippine President Benigno Aquino on
Thursday, ahead of a Manila concert, to send what the star described as
Manila Zoo's long-suffering elephant into retirement.
The British ex-singer of alternative rock group The Smiths said Mali,
37, deserved a reprieve from a lifetime of confinement.
"I ask that you send Mali to a sanctuary, where she would have room
to roam and be able to be among other members of her own species,"
Morrissey wrote ahead of his May 13 Manila show.
Aquino's office received the letter Thursday and is evaluating it,
his spokeswoman Abigail Valte told reporters.
Echoing allegations by the animal rights group People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals, Morrissey said Mali had been unable to roam and
socialise unlike her cousins in the wild.
"Her life consists of extreme loneliness, boredom and isolation in an
area that is a fraction of the size of her natural habitat," he said,
suggesting this could drive her to insanity.
PETA, which Morrissey supports, wants Mali shipped to a US sanctuary
for old, sick or needy elephants that have been retired from zoos and
circuses.
It was not the first time Aquino's intervention had been sought over
conditions at the nearly 53-year-old zoo.
Last year a college student's blog about apparently mistreated zoo
animals provoked an instant Internet global furore and forced Aquino to
call on officials to look into their welfare. AFP |