Conservation organisations have launched a legal bid to relocate three elephants from the Johannesburg Zoo to a rehabilitation sanctuary in Limpopo, citing inadequate living conditions and psychological distress.

The EMS Foundation, Animal Law Reform South Africa and Khoi Chief Stephen Fritz filed the application in the Gauteng High Court recently. Judgment has been reserved.

The elephants at the centre of the case are Lammie (47), who was born at the Johannesburg Zoo and has spent her entire life in captivity, and Mopane (23) and Ramadiba (26), both wild elephants captured for elephant back safari tourism before the zoo acquired them in 2019.

According to court papers, the elephants face limited shade, insufficient space, minimal stimulation, inadequate food quality and variety, and safety risks. In one recent incident, Mopane was observed dangerously close to a gap in the enclosure whilst attempting to reach grass.

Leading international elephant specialists have assessed the enclosure as inadequate for the animals’ needs. All three elephants have been observed exhibiting signs of psychological distress.

The National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals resigned from the zoo’s Animal Ethics Committee in 2019 in protest at the acquisition of Mopane and Ramadiba. Thirteen globally recognised elephant specialists wrote to the Johannesburg Zoo in 2019 supporting Lammie’s release.

The applicants have identified a rehabilitation sanctuary in Limpopo province where the elephants could be relocated. The programme is designed to allow the animals to progressively re-integrate into a natural environment.

The application draws on a successful precedent. Duma, who spent 40 years in captivity as the last elephant at Pretoria Zoo, was relocated to a Limpopo private nature reserve and is now reported to be flourishing in the wild.

The legal application is grounded in the Constitution’s environmental right and in applicable animal protection, welfare and environmental law.

The City of Johannesburg and the MEC for Environment, Ewan Botha, are opposing the application. The Democratic Alliance in Gauteng has called on them to withdraw their opposition and prioritise the welfare of the elephants.

The case represents a test of how courts balance institutional interests against animal welfare considerations under South African law.

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