After Rescuing The 'World's Loneliest Elephant' Cher Aspires To Free Gorilla Living Above Thai Mall

Dec 18, 2020

Less than one month after Cher's high profile rescue of the "world's loneliest elephant," Kavaan, the singer is once again using her powerful voice and substantial social media following to free Bua Noi, a lonely gorilla in a shopping-mall high-rise zoo. While animal rights activists have been campaigning for the gorilla's transfer for decades, the singer has taken the case to the Thai ministry of environment. Now, all eyes are on the Thai authorities to ensure they do good on their promise to oversee Bua Noi's release. 

Bua Noi, a gorilla who has been kept at Thailand's Pata Zoo for over 30 years, has been the source of much controversy for almost all her life, with conservationists and animal welfare activists ferociously campaigning for her release. The zoo sits at the top two floors of Bangkok's Pata Pinklao department store and hosts over 200 species crammed into cages and pens. 

Earlier this month, Cher wrote a letter to Thailand's environment minister, Varawut Silpa-Archa, on behalf of her organization, Free the Wild, to express her "deep concern" regarding the conditions in which Bua Noi and the other animals were living at Pata Zoo.

The singer informed Mr. Sipa-archa that her organization had collaborated with the Aspinall Foundation to secure a sanctuary for the animals to be transferred to following their release. Bua Noi's new home would be a sanctuary in the Republic of the Congo that would offer her "a home of peace and dignity where she could live out her life in a natural environment and companionship with other species." The rest of the primates were offered to be relocated to the Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand. 

Furthermore, she assured the politician that the transfer would be funded by Free the Wild and would come at no cost to neither the government nor the zoo owner. 

"Such transfer would have significant welfare benefits and sends a powerful message about protecting and conservation," Cher wrote. "We sincerely request your support in preventing the future granting of permits or licenses to keep Buanoi in her current situation and assist with granting the release of Buanoi and the other suffering primates."

In true Cher fashion, the singer took to Twitter to appeal to her fans in Bangkok to help her in her cause.

"Good People Of Bangkok I Know You Will Understand & Help Me Stop The Torturing Of Innocent Animals," she wrote, before calling it a "sin."

"Please Help Me Bring Peace to these Animals. & Free Them From Pata Zoo…Shopping Mall."

According to PETA Asia, Bua Noi, the last remaining gorilla in Thailand, was captured as a baby and taken to the zoo in 1988. While she had had a partner in her small shopping-mall enclosure for company, he died years back, and Bua Noi has been alone ever since. With no means for physical or mental stimulation for the gorilla – or the rest of the animals for that matter – PETA branded the zoo as "one of the saddest places in the world." 

In 2010, the Guardian released an exposé which sparked global outrage when readers saw the zoo had kept many of its animals, including Bua Noi, in solitary confinement with little to no access to sunlight and forced others to partake in humiliating, dangerous acts for entertainment. In the video, an infant orangutan is shown forced to lift a heavy barbell while monkeys were made to wear makeup and fight using knives. 

The founder of the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, Edwin Wiek, described the zoo as "an animal prison on top of a shopping mall" at the time as he explained just how horrible the living conditions were. 

"The space is too small, the animals have very little room, there is very little sunlight, the enclosures are dirty, they smell bad, and people are coming past all day, getting far too close to the animals, which makes the animals extremely stressed," Wiek said. "In 200 steps you can see 50 different species. Most people know that this is not an acceptable way to keep animals."

Bua Noi became the de-facto 'poster child' for the high-rise zoo's appalling conditions and turned into a symbol for activists' and NGOs' campaigns to free the animals. In 2013, animal rights activist Sinjira Apaithan, after campaigning for Bua Noi's release for over 25 years, started an online petition for his cause. The movement demanded Bua Noi and the other large primates' immediate release so they could be taken to "better environments" with "family groups of their own kind." It attracted over 50,000 signatures in less than a year.

Speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Apaithan said he was devastated when he saw the small space in which Bua Noi lived. 

"I just felt so absolutely saddened by what I saw. We should have stopped this issue ages ago," Apaithan said. "It's not the place for animals. So the main thing is education for Thai people, for Thai society, for a new generation to learn. This is the lesson that we have to learn it."

After much international pressure, authorities agreed to meet with activists in 2015 to discuss the rehome of Bua Noi and the other large animals at the zoo. The zoo owner, Kanit Sermsirimongkol, insisted that all accusations of alleged animal cruelty or negligence were unfounded – mainly due to the absence of respective regulations in Thailand at the time. 

"There is no regulation how big the cage should be for a monkey, a snake or a bird. There is no rules yet," Mr. Sermsirimongkol said before claiming that his animals were 'well cared for.'

That year, the Thai government found the zoo to have violated multiple animal welfare guidelines and demanded that Mr. Sermsirimongkol release Bua Noi and other large animals immediately. While activists welcomed the decision at the time, authorities warned it would be difficult to enforce and, five years later, the gorilla and the other primates remain at Pata Zoo.

And now, just a few weeks since Cher freed Kavaan from over three decades of isolation and negligence, the cultural icon has made it her mission to save the suffering animals at Pata zoo as well. The co-founder of her Free the Wild organization, Mark Cowne, described the zoo's enclosures as "purgatory," and promised they are doing everything they can to rehome Bua Noi and the other primates. 

"... These wild, wonderful, charismatic animals are in solitary confinement for life. In a zoo. On top of a shopping mall," Crowne told Sky News on December 10. 

Just days after receiving Cher's letter, Mr. Silpa-Archa responded by saying authorities were working closely with the zoo to draw up an action plan to transfer the animals to another location. 

"Please be informed that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has never forgotten or ignored Bua Noi. I, myself as minister in charge of wildlife conservation, have given instruction to the relevant agencies in order to find the best solution for a better life of Bua Noi," he wrote in a letter to Free the Wild, obtained by Sky News.

Mr. Silpa-Archa re-iterated the fact that Pata zoo was not violating any rules – rules that, as previously mentioned, are lacking in Thailand – but said governmental officials had repeatedly requested the owners improve the conditions nonetheless. In response, Mr. Sermsirimongkol told authorities he was planning on building a new site for the zoo but was forced to put that on hold when the COVID-19 pandemic brought on financial issues. 

The director of the Wildlife Conservation Office, Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation in Thailand, Sompong Thongseekem, confirmed to the news outlet that they were keeping a close eye on Mr. Sermsirimongkol. "The deadline for the zoo permit extension is approaching, if they do not improve it the extension will be put on hold," he said. 

Last month, Cher made headlines for rescuing Kavaan, dubbed the "worlds loneliest elephant," after he had withered in poor health at a Pakistani zoo for over 30 years. The singer traveled to Islamabad to oversee Kavaan's relocation and met with the country's Prime Minister, Imran Khan, to thank him for making the rescue possible. 

"This is Free The Wild's first big rescue and I am so proud," Cher said.

The singer also visited Kavaan before his departure and serenaded him with the song, A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes. The elephant now resides at the Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary, where he has a vast jungle enclosure with an abundance of fruit and vegetables for him to munch on, with another three female elephants to keep him company. 

She has since teamed up with the Smithsonian Channel for a documentary on the elephant's story. "Think Documentary Will Be Heartwarming," Cher tweeted.

While Cher and Free the Wild led the campaign to raise awareness for Kavaan, the global animal welfare NGO Four Paws made the rescue a reality. Martin Bauer, a spokesperson for the organization, praised Cher for her involvement in making the elephant's story heard globally and said celebrity voices can have a powerful impact on advocating for animal rights.  

"Celebrities lending their voices to good causes are always welcomed, as they help to start public discourse and raising pressure on responsible authorities," Bauer said.

With Kavaan's recent success story, animal rights advocates hope Cher's support can rescue Bua Noi as well. 

What do you think of Cher's campaign to free Bua Noi? Let us know in the comments, and make sure you spread awareness for this vital cause by passing on this story to your friends and family.