Mali mali

The elephant Mali is quite the center of attraction, the star of a tug of war – at least on paper and in the media – between the City of Manila which owns the Manila Zoo and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA. The former has Mayor Erap, and the latter has fronted a whole bunch of artistas and celebrities, in person and by proxy, including ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney.

PETA wants Mali moved to a pachyderm retirement home in Thailand; Mayor Erap wants Mali to stay put and spend the rest of her days in a soon-to-be refurbished enclosure, in the company of two young elephants to be donated by Sri Lanka, where Mali came from. In the meantime that her digs are being enlarged and remodeled, Mayor Erap says she may take a vacation in Subic.

I don’t know how Mali will take to being moved to a new place. Having spent 35 of her 39 years in Manila Zoo, she may not like the idea of moving, even temporarily, to new surroundings; there’s nothing like home, cramped though it may be. Also, can she take the stresses of the trip, especially if she will have to be sedated, and then wake up in a totally strange place? Perhaps she can “vacation” in another area in the zoo while her digs are being fixed; just a suggestion.

While I appreciate PETA’s concern for animals, I sometimes wonder about the causes they fixate on. Obviously, a concrete enclosure is not the best place for an elephant, but Mali has lived there for 35 years. She has a foot infection that could prove fatal; perhaps PETA should immediately provide treatment and care for that, even as they’re campaigning for her transfer.

CNN’s irreverent Jarett Bellini has written a hilarious piece about a trending topic: PETA has taken up the cudgels for hundreds of chicken that died when a truck carrying 5,000 chickens headed for the slaughterhouse crashed in downtown Salem in Oregon state. PETA proposed that a five-and-a-half foot, 250-pound statue of a bloodied chicken on crutches be put up at the intersection where the crash occurred, to remind people that chickens “are among the most abused animals on the planet.” The plaque at the base of the statue would read: “In memory of the hundreds of chickens who suffered and died in a truck crash July 9, 2013 GO VEGAN” The Oregon Department of Transportation thumbed down the proposal, saying the statue “would be a distraction and possibly a hazard.”

I admit to being an omnivore, but I am not going to browbeat anyone who limits his/her food choices, for whatever reason – religious, moral, ethical or health- or tastebud-related. While the PETA ad and poster campaign for going vegan featuring sexy artistas, models and other celebrities wearing nothing but repolyo or pechay is certainly innovative and eye-catching, I just wonder whether these artistas, models and celebrities have in their wardrobes – aside from the aforementioned repolyo and pechay – leather shoes and bags and belts. After all, I don’t think those Blahniks and Jimmy Choos, Birkens and Vuittons are made of water lily or recycled newspapers and tetrapacks...

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind... The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33:12-13; 18-22