After inspections and consultations, they finally approved the transfer of the elephants Pocha and Guillermina to Brazil

The elephants Pocha and Guillermina will be transferred from the former Mendoza zoo to a sanctuary in Cuiabá in Brazil (Télam)

The Secretary of Environment and Territorial Planning of Mendoza, Humberto Mingorance reported that finally the necessary certificates to be able to transfer the elephants Pocha and Guillermina from the former Mendoza zoo to a sanctuary in Brazil, CITES, have already been approved by the national environment portfolio.

They are mother and daughter, both housed in the establishment converted into an Ecopark, which the provincial government seeks to transfer to a “sanctuary” located on the outskirts of Cuiabá, in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, where the elephant Mara already lives, moved in May 2020.

“The Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of the Nation delivered yesterday the CITES export certificates so that the Asian elephants, residents of the Mendoza Ecopark, can begin their journey to their new home in the Elephant Sanctuary of Brazil,” said Mingorance. .

From the Ministry of Environment of the Nation they ratified Telam that “the CITES permit was signed” to move the animals.

The transfer of both elephants will take place in the month of May (Télam)

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement between governments that aims to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not constitute a threat to the survival of those species.

In this way, the maneuver was unlocked. While the Mendoza administration insisted on executing the transfer, in recent days the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of the Nation had informed its decision to consult the Fiscal Unit for the Investigation of Crimes against the Environment (UFIMA) about the relevance of take the two elephants to a private protected area in Brazil that was not registered as a sanctuary.

From the national portfolio they argued that the non-existence of the category of sanctuary for the reception space constituted a wake-up call and motivated the consultation so as not to incur irresponsibility.

The request for the Environment portfolio to said fiscal unit was made based on an inspection carried out by the Ministry’s Environmental Control Brigade (BCA) in February at the “Brazil Elephant Sanctuary”.

Meanwhile, from the Secretary of the Environment they added that “documentation was provided that supports the suitability and aptitude of the Elephant Sanctuary of Brazil to receive all the elephants that are still captive in Argentina.”

The 56-year-old elephant Pocha arrived in Mendoza in 1968 and is the mother of Guillermina

They also indicated that “like any international movement of animals protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, obtaining the numerous authorizations is very complex and involves deadlines that cannot be postponed both by the importing country of animals (Brazil in this case), as well as by the exporting country (Argentina in this case)”.

“Thanks to the social mobilization and the technical and political efforts undertaken by the Government of Mendoza, the export CITES have arrived in Mendoza. Now, Pocha and Guillermina will move on to the next stage of their trip to Brazil, which consists of the end of the quarantine period supervised by the National Service for Agrifood Health and Quality (Senasa) and the adaptation of the closing of the doors of their transport boxes. Mingorance added.

The management of Mendoza and the Brazilian Elephant Sanctuary are already coordinating the binational logistics operation, for which the local authorities anticipate that the animals will begin their journey in mid-May in specially developed containers for a less stressful journey for both animals. .

The 56-year-old elephant Pocha arrived in Mendoza in 1968 and it was there that her daughter, Guillermina, was born, who never experienced life outside the zoo.

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