Knysna Tourism 'shocked over alleged cruelty to elephants'

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

Knysna Tourism says it learnt with shock that Knysna Elephant Park's directors and management are under investigation for alleged animal cruelty, in terms of the Animals Protection Act.

This, after the National Council of SPCA's received footage depicting cruel and abusive training methods employed to control and train baby and young elephants for their future in the elephant-based tourist industry.

Knysna Tourism Marketing Manager, Johan van Schalkwyk, says he was shocked and saddened at the allegations, and together with their board of directors, they are consulting with Provincial and National authorities, including the Department of Environmental Affairs, on the way forward...

"It is absolutely horrible to see images and video footage of such extreme animal cruelty. As the marketing agency for Knysna, we simply will not tolerate unlawful members, and will act swiftly within our code of conduct and membership rules."

Van Schalkwyk said Knysna is a high profile town among international travellers and a tourism node to the region, and believes its status makes taking a firm stance in the matter even more imperative.

"This is an extremely serious situation, and we want to be fair by gathering the facts before deciding our stance over the next few days. However, should the allegations prove to be true we will not hesitate to suspend the membership of Knysna Elephant Park, which would call an immediate end to any marketing efforts in our Visitor Information Centres on its behalf."

Last week, the owner of Elephants of Eden, Lizette Withers said she did'nt denied animal cruelty allegations laid by the National Council of SPCA's.

She said, however, that the charges related to a single incident that took place six years ago.

The Knysna Elephant Park, part of the Elephants of Eden group before it moved from the Eastern Cape to Knysna, offers visitors a range of experiences with elephants.