Frequently Asked Questions

Elephants at SWAP

Yulin Dog Meat Festival China

Confiscated Celebrity Macaques

Dog Population Control

01
June 26, 2025
Shanghai Wild Animal Park (SWAP) has a herd of African elephants who has been targeting elephants, female named Danika ("丹妮") and a male named Benben ("笨笨")
A member of the public filmed Danika being pushed by other elephants into an electric fence which has resulted in international attention
A member of the public filmed Danni being pushed by other elephants into an electric fence which has resulted in international attention
This aggressive behaviour has reportedly been ongoing for sometime with a wechat phone capture showing an incident from Oct 2023 - link to article and footage showing incident happening in April 2024
Members of the public mobilized to send enquiries to animal organizations, asking for them to intervene to help Danni and improve his welfare, as well as denouncing poor welfare conditions generally at SWAP
June 27, 2025
SWAP have reportedly separated the elephants - but we have no details on how the group has been separated so are waiting for further details
02
Keepers of the zoo received an Elephant Management workshop training held at Shanghai Zoo in May 2025 by Animals Asia (facilitated through CAZG), with the aim to improve elephant footcare / develop behavioral training regimes / advise on management and facility improvements.
Outcome of workshop with SWAP: The workshop was for Shanghai Zoo keepers and held at Shanghai Zoo with practical sessions delivered by Shanghai Zoo keepers - SWAP keepers attended the workshop to watch and learn etc.
03
Animals Asia - (link) are registered to work in China and have been working through CAZG (the Chinese Association for Zoological Gardens) for over a decade to provide animal management workshops to a range of facilities across China.
IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group - (link) The IUCN SSC African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) is a global network of over 95 technical experts dedicated to promoting long - term conservation of Africa’s two elephant species.
CAZG (Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens) - (link) CAZG is a key organization in China dedicated to the development and improvement of zoos and aquariums. It focuses on animal welfare, conservation, education, and research, fostering collaboration both domestically and internationally. CAZG also plays a vital role in guiding and regulating zoos across China.
04
CAZG are in touch with Animals Asia and have asked the SWAP to respond on what can be done to help the facility handle the situation
They have issued a statement on WeChat which states: (link)
From May 11 to 19, 2025, the "Protective Contact Elephant Behavior Training and Enrichment Advanced Training" was successfully held, jointly sponsored by the China Association of Zoological Gardens and the Asia Animals Foundation, and co-organized by Shanghai Zoo and Chengdu Zoo. More than 70 elephant keepers, managers, technicians, veterinarians and scientific and educational workers from 12 units including Shanghai Zoo, Chengdu Zoo, and Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo gathered in the two places to explore new ways to protect and improve elephant welfare.
The training specially invited Ms. Margaret Whiteaker, CEO of the American Wildlife Welfare Organization, to be the main speaker. With her profound experience in elephant behavior training, she systematically taught theoretical courses such as elephant foot care, foot and leg anatomy, common foot disease prevention and treatment, foot medicated bath and nose washing training techniques, principles and methods of animal behavior training, and correction of abnormal animal behavior, etc., to build a professional knowledge framework for the trainees.
In the practical part, Ms. Margaret went deep into the elephant house to assess the health of the elephants' feet one by one, and demonstrated the standardized foot care process and the training points before the foot bath. She adopted a "one-to-one" guidance model to accurately guide the trainees' problems in practical operation. The elephant keepers of Shanghai Zoo and Chengdu Zoo actively cooperated to efficiently transform theoretical knowledge into practical ability.
The training was carried out in a "theory + practice" mode, and the course design closely matched the actual needs of elephant breeding and management. Through immersive learning, the teacher promptly discovered and corrected the students' previous wrong ideas, enabling the students to overcome the technical difficulties that had long plagued behavioral training, significantly improving the professional and technical level of animal training and enrichment, and laying a solid foundation for improving the welfare level of elephants. The small-class, customized training model was highly consistent with the characteristics of the two zoos, and received unanimous praise from the students, and provided an innovative model for the association's subsequent training work.
05
The elephant management workshops organized by Animals Asia have had fantastic success across the facilities in China however, change comes slowly and must be done systematically.
Animals Asia have said:
"We are aware of the incidents impacting upon the welfare of elephants at the Shanghai Wild Animal Park. Our China team has a constructive relationship with the China Association of Zoological Gardens and we are reaching out to the safari park to offer advice and support to help them to address these issues. We have been working constructively with the zoo association and individual zoos in China since 2010, delivering capacity building training programs on animal behavior and veterinary management. This includes elephant specific workshops delivered in consultation with captive elephant management expert, Margaret Whittaker. These training programs have led to significant welfare improvements for captive animals in China and we hope that via the zoo association we will be able to support the safari park to address this issue”.
06
07
08
Yes, there are over 400 facilities across China which house wild animals, including elephants.
Sadly, there are hundreds of elephants held in similar conditions in facilities across China and beyond. We urge people who want to help not to visit these places where animal welfare is of concern. We encourage you to continue to raise awareness by sharing relevant information on social media and discussing it with your friends and family, because the more widely such situations are understood, the more likely facilities and governments are to prioritize action. Supporting genuine NGOs working strategically to achieve lasting change for animals is also incredibly important and we hope that you will consider doing so! Support our work here.
09
Sadly, there are hundreds of elephants held in similar conditions in facilities across China and beyond. We urge people who want to help not to visit these places where animal welfare is of concern. We encourage you to continue to raise awareness by sharing relevant information on social media and discussing it with your friends and family, because the more widely such situations are understood, the more likely facilities and governments are to prioritize action. Supporting genuine NGOs working strategically to achieve lasting change for animals is also incredibly important and we hope that you will consider doing so! Support our work here.
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If you wish to write to the facilities, ask them to take part in initiatives like Animals Asia training sessions and do their best to adhere to the recommendations.