Activists block transfer of elephants to Australia
The animals were in trucks at a quarantine station in Thailand

Grant Peck, Associated Press
Published: Tuesday, June 06, 2006

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Animal rights activists Monday blocked trucks from transporting eight elephants bound for Australian zoos, saying the animals would suffer.

The elephants were in separate trucks at a quarantine station in the western Thai province of Kanchanaburi, waiting to be driven to Bangkok airport for a flight to Australia late Monday night.

But Soraida Salwala, founder of the Thai group Friends of the Asian Elephant, and a local environmentalist stepped in front of the lead truck, blocking its way. Television footage showed the truck stopping less than a metre in front of them.

The standoff continued into the night, Soraida said by phone. She and her colleague remained inside the university compound that houses the quarantine station, while a fence had been erected to keep others out. About 100 supporters were outside the fence, she said.

Soraida said police had told her she would have to leave because she was on government property, but that she planned to remain at least overnight despite the possibility of arrest.

She and other opponents of the move said they were concerned about the elephants' welfare, claiming the animals, who will be part of a captive breeding program, would suffer in the confines of Australian zoos, which she compared to prisons.

Soraida said she would step aside if the elephants were put back in the stables and the Thai government opened discussions with the activists.

"I don't want to see elephants in distress," she told The Associated Press.

The elephants were to be flown to a temporary home in Australia's Cocos islands for three months of quarantine before moving to two national zoos.

The elephants have been kept in quarantine in Thailand for more than a year as groups in both countries fought to prevent the transfer.