22 rabbits were removed from a bad situation
22 others left behind…
I felt like I was on the show ‘Animal Cops’ when I happened upon 44 rabbits crammed in dark, dank hutches with months of their waste piled high - the smell was awful.  Mothers were living with their grown bunnies stepping over each other for pellet food and spilling their only offering of water as they crowded the bowl. My friend Betsy, pictured here with Luke, helped me clean up the place…

     

We wore gloves, masks and aprons and we worked for over three hours. The bunnies loved all the fuss and we made instant connections with them.

These rabbits were destined for the animal auction in Lancaster, PA. Transported in cardboard boxes in the back of a flatbed truck, they would be sold for food or purchased for resale in a pet store. Because the owner was doing this "just for fun" he allowed me to take 22 rabbits from the group - 16 went to auction and 6 remained there. I continued to check on their conditions and he continued to neglect them. The health department and animal control are aware of the situation.
 

This mama bun is a true survivor. I found her desperately underweight, nursing her “kit” of six bunnies and suffering with infected ears. She looked more like a skinny goat than a rabbit. After a trip to the vet and daily nourishment she regained her health and could focus on caring for her precious babies…and on digging a burrow.

 

These itty bitty buns would line up and march right onto my hand for a lift down to the grass. They quickly grew in size and could easily manage to get where they wanted to go. They had a blast hopping around together!

             

This 15 year old Asian elephant was born in captivity and raised to be a circus performer. After years of harmful training and constant confinement he now lives happily at a sanctuary called “PAWS” – Performing Animal Welfare Society. Please visit their website www.pawsweb.org to learn more about Nick’s beautiful home and to meet the other elephants that have been given refuge at PAWS - you will find endless amounts of information and tons of adorable photos! I took this one when I attended a conference there…Nick was having a blast with the fountain in the middle of his lake. He used his foot to direct the spray and then he stomped around splashing water everywhere.

  

The property is magnificent – hundreds of acres of rolling hills, lakes and four state of the art barns – all designed specifically for the elephant’s needs.

  

In this photo you can see Nick’s caregiver using positive reinforcement (carrots) to check his feet. Elephants that have spent their lives standing on hard surfaces, chained and/or given limited exercise, have foot problems so, it is important to be able to care for their feet. The giant Q-tip looking wands are used to ask for specific actions and unlike the bull hook, they never touch the elephant.
 

This next elephant is a local victory for those of you from Philadelphia, I am honored to introduce...

Below is photo of a bullhook which is commonly used in circuses and zoos as a fear based – negative reinforcement - training instrument. It is a heavy rod with steel pointed ends intended for hooking, stabbing and/or beating elephants to inflict pain and dominate them. There are numerous training videos which clearly show that bullhooks hurt the elephants. Some of the more progressive zoos have phased out the use of such painful, fear-based management but many still rely on this form of punishment to control their elephants.



Fortunately, in May 2007 Dulary was moved to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee where they DO NOT use bullhooks! Dulary shares thousands of acres with a herd of female Asian elephants. Her best friend is Misty and the two of them roam the property chirping and purring to each other. Please visit their website www.elephants.com and enjoy numerous photos and videos of Dulary and the other elephants living there…including the founding el named Tarra and her dog-friend Bella!

some adorable African elephants! These babies were rescued in the wild after their mothers were tragically killed by poachers. Now they live together at Daphnie Sheldrick’s Orphanage in Kenya. Their caregivers are wearing the green coats – they stay with the babies all the time, they even sleep with them and when the elephants are all grown up they will be able to return to the wild.

Visit www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org to read about these sweet orphans and the current efforts to protect elephants from poachers in Africa.

I couldn’t leave out this little black rhino that was rescued too - thank goodness for the orphanage!