NGOs give three-day ultimatum to bring home Dara, Amoi and Kelat from Japan
Paperwork shows the three elephants had lived at National Elephant Conservation Centre Kuala Gandah since young and not from Zoo Taiping & Night Safari as previously claimed.
PUTRAJAYA – A group of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has given a three-day deadline to the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) Minister Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup to issue a statement on bringing home three Asian elephants currently housed at Tennoji Zoo.
Sekretariat Bahana Kesetiaan Negara (SBKB) Secretariat chairman Datuk S Kalai stressed that the elephants – named Dara, Amoi and Kelat – were transferred to the Osaka zoo on March 10.
He said health records, history and origin documents of the three elephants indicate that they had lived at National Elephant Conservation Centre Kuala Gandah since young and not from Zoo Taiping & Night Safari as previously claimed.
“The minister is not in the office today as he is in Sabah, but a meeting with his officers earlier indicated the matter will be resolved as soon as possible.
“From our side, we are giving three days for the minister to officially announce that Dara, Amoi and Kelat will be brought home,” he said.
He told reporters this after a peaceful demonstration here on Friday.
Kalai also alleged that Kelat, a male elephant, has suffered injuries to his leg as well as his tusks.
“We demand a detailed official explanation on the actual cause, whether it was due to an accident, stress, negligence or human intervention,” he added.
In the memorandum submitted, SBKB also called for the immediate halt of any transfer of Malaysian wildlife to overseas zoos or for diplomatic purposes.
“I have never heard of other countries like India carrying out such animal transfers,” Kalai said.
Earlier, he spent about 20 minutes handing over the memorandum to Deputy Secretary-General (Natural Resources) of NRES, Datuk Mas Rizal Mohd Hilmi, who represented the minister.
Dara, Amoi and Kelat were flown to Japan on a special six-hour flight.
The transfer is part of a bilateral cooperation planned since 2022 and coordinated by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia.
Amoi is nine years old, Dara is 14 and Kelat is 20. They were relocated under the Malaysia Elephant Conservation Programme for breeding and research purposes.
Earlier this month, Perak Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Ng Shy Ching said the elephants remain the property of Zoo Taiping & Night Safari (ZTNS) and that no ownership transfer or sale was involved.
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