HOPE for OPAL?
A petition comprising more than 100 000 signatures is calling to free Opal the Orangutan from captivity in Pietermaritzburg and relocate her to the UK. Terence Pillay investigates.
A petition comprising more than 100 000 signatures is calling to free Opal the Orangutan from captivity in Pietermaritzburg and relocate her to the UK. Terence Pillay investigates.
Opal, the Orangutan has been living in captivity for more than 34 years but now a controversial move looms over her head. The Kloof and Highway SPCA is calling for Opal to be moved to a facility in the UK from her home in Pietermaritzburg. The SPCA also plan on bringing charges in terms of the Animal Protection Act against Opal’s owner, Brian Boswell, owner of the Brian Boswell Circus.
I spoke to SPCA Chief Inspector Cheri Cooke who said she’s been in talks with Boswell for years to release Opal to a primate sanctuary. She has identified Monkeyworld in Dorset in the UK, but it’s a move Boswell is not willing to make.
Cooke also said that Opal belongs to a species which ranks among the most intelligent of all primates, yet she is kept in an enclosure that she believes has minimal environmental enrichment.
Opal, the Orangutan has been living in captivity for more than 34 years but now a controversial move looms over her head. The Kloof and Highway SPCA is calling for Opal to be moved to a facility in the UK from her home in Pietermaritzburg. The SPCA also plan on bringing charges in terms of the Animal Protection Act against Opal’s owner, Brian Boswell, owner of the Brian Boswell Circus.
I spoke to SPCA Chief Inspector Cheri Cooke who said she’s been in talks with Boswell for years to release Opal to a primate sanctuary. She has identified Monkeyworld in Dorset in the UK, but it’s a move Boswell is not willing to make.
Cooke also said that Opal belongs to a species which ranks among the most intelligent of all primates, yet she is kept in an enclosure that she believes has minimal environmental enrichment.
You can listen to Cheri Cooke’s interview here:
Brian Boswell refused an on air interview to tell his side of the story. Instead he sent me this written statement:
Opal was born at the Natal Zoological Gardens and has given birth to a baby of her own in the past. The baby was a male who was relocated to another facility to diversify the gene pool. The breeding program was stopped over 20 years ago. The SPCA has regularly inspected Opal at the Natal Zoological Gardens since then and the issue of her solitude has not been an alleged point of cruelty. Many attempts have been made in this time to find a mate for Opal but permits have been denied to prevent breeding.
We feel that this is another publicity stunt driven by the NSPCA to raise donations for an issue that does not exist. The SPCA Facebook page is directing people to donate to the SPCA rather than to any cause that would benefit Opal.
In a similar campaign in April 2013, the SPCA found a home for a solitary elephant named Thandora from Bloemfontein Zoo where she lived a healthy life for 23 years. Thandora, the elephant, was taken from her home and transported across the country to a reserve where they intended to integrate her into the existing herd. Thandora died of questionable causes in a climate that she was not accustomed to in June 2013.
Orangutans are naturally semi-solitary animals. Opal is comfortable in her environment. We feel that it would be detrimental and traumatic (potentially fatal) for her to endure transportation and adaptation to a new climate or facility. The Natal Zoological Gardens has been the only home that Opal has known for the past 34 years. She receives daily interaction from her keepers and constant environmental enrichment. Opal’s physical condition speaks for itself – she is a perfect example of a healthy captive orangutan.
The proposed facility in the UK that the SPCA would like to have Opal relocated to is not a registered charity and is in fact a breeding facility that profits from the display of primates in the form of admissions. Such facilities use media campaigns such as this to generate donations.
We are saddened that there are so called “welfare” organisations casting aspersions about a mentally and physically healthy animal for their own financial gain.
THE NATAL ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS
Do you believe that Opal should be moved to a facility on another continent or remain here in South Africa, where she’s been living for more than 34 years?
Opal was born at the Natal Zoological Gardens and has given birth to a baby of her own in the past. The baby was a male who was relocated to another facility to diversify the gene pool. The breeding program was stopped over 20 years ago. The SPCA has regularly inspected Opal at the Natal Zoological Gardens since then and the issue of her solitude has not been an alleged point of cruelty. Many attempts have been made in this time to find a mate for Opal but permits have been denied to prevent breeding.
We feel that this is another publicity stunt driven by the NSPCA to raise donations for an issue that does not exist. The SPCA Facebook page is directing people to donate to the SPCA rather than to any cause that would benefit Opal.
In a similar campaign in April 2013, the SPCA found a home for a solitary elephant named Thandora from Bloemfontein Zoo where she lived a healthy life for 23 years. Thandora, the elephant, was taken from her home and transported across the country to a reserve where they intended to integrate her into the existing herd. Thandora died of questionable causes in a climate that she was not accustomed to in June 2013.
Orangutans are naturally semi-solitary animals. Opal is comfortable in her environment. We feel that it would be detrimental and traumatic (potentially fatal) for her to endure transportation and adaptation to a new climate or facility. The Natal Zoological Gardens has been the only home that Opal has known for the past 34 years. She receives daily interaction from her keepers and constant environmental enrichment. Opal’s physical condition speaks for itself – she is a perfect example of a healthy captive orangutan.
The proposed facility in the UK that the SPCA would like to have Opal relocated to is not a registered charity and is in fact a breeding facility that profits from the display of primates in the form of admissions. Such facilities use media campaigns such as this to generate donations.
We are saddened that there are so called “welfare” organisations casting aspersions about a mentally and physically healthy animal for their own financial gain.
THE NATAL ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS
Do you believe that Opal should be moved to a facility on another continent or remain here in South Africa, where she’s been living for more than 34 years?
You can email Terence Pillay at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter: @terencepillay1 and tweet him your thoughts using the hashtag #hopeforopal