Cape Town - An elephant owner at the centre of cruelty charges said she was not too worried about an upcoming court case, as she maintained her innocence.
Lizette Withers, owner of Elephants of Eden in Knysna, against which the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) opened animal cruelty charges in 2014 when pictures depicting alleged “cruel and abusive training methods” surfaced, said on Wednesday she believed nothing would come of the case when it resumed in court in February.
Withers and her co-accused, the directors and management of Knysna Elephant Park, appeared in the Port Elizabeth Regional Court on Monday following years of postponements and a failed application to have the matter struck from the roll.
The matter was postponed to February 14 in the Port Elizabeth Regional Court.
Elephants of Eden park has since closed, and all 10 of its elephants have been moved to a game reserve in Plettenberg Bay, according to Withers.
“We sold the park in 2014 to a private buyer. We still own the elephants; all 10 of them are still together. I believe nothing will come of the court case; I’m not guilty,” Withers said.
The NSPCA has lodged compaints in terms of the Animals Protection Act after it said it received footage depicting cruel and abusive training methods used to control and train baby and young elephants.
Its inspector at the time, Wendy Wilson, said the pictures showed
elephant calves being chained, roped and stretched, shocked with electric cattle rods and hit with bullhooks.
“The NSPCA appeals to the public to not support any facility that allows interactions with elephants or any other wild animal - even if the facility is claiming to be a sanctuary for rescued or abused animals.
“Any ethical wildlife facility would not allow physical interaction with their animals.”
The NSPCA added that it subscribed to the credo that “wild animals belong in the wild” and that it was opposed to the removal of elephants from the wild for domestication.
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