Malaysian elephants sent abroad without adequate transparency
3 hours ago
1 min read
On March 11, 2026, three Asian elephants—Amoi, Dara, and Kelat—were transferred from Malaysia’s Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary to Tennoji Zoo in Osaka, Japan. The transfer has raised serious welfare concerns because Tennoji Zoo has previously been criticized for failures in its elephant program, including neglect associated with severe foot disease and death. Kuala Gandah primarily houses elephants relocated from the wild, making the decision to send these elephants overseas especially troubling.
The transfer is part of a much larger transparency problem. Malaysian wildlife authorities have acknowledged that 19 elephants were sent to other facilities under “loan” arrangements, yet they have not publicly identified all of the receiving institutions, the locations of the elephants, their ages and origins, or the terms governing their care. This secrecy is inconsistent with Malaysia’s own elephant-management plans, which state that elephants should remain in the wild whenever possible and that captivity should be used only as a last resort.
CompassionWorks International joined the Asia for Animals Coalition in calling on Malaysian authorities to disclose the agreements and CITES permits connected to these transfers, establish meaningful independent welfare oversight, create a national registry for captive elephants, and adopt a transparent national policy governing future international wildlife transfers. Amoi, Dara, Kelat, and the other elephants deserve more than undisclosed deals made without public accountability.
