00:01A Portuguese wildlife sanctuary in the southern region of Alentejo has welcomed its first elephant.
00:09Julie is Portugal's last wild animal remaining in a Portuguese circus.
00:13At the Pangaea Elephant Sanctuary, she is already walking around in a controlled environment
00:18and has even taken her first mud bath.
00:21Julie isn't just Pangaea's first elephant, she's also the last circus elephant in Portugal,
00:26and in fact the last wild animal at Netany Circus, and that's enormous.
00:30It just shows how important it is to marry legislation with sanctuary as well
00:36because you've got to have a solution, you've got to have a place to send these animals.
00:38The site is said to be the first of its kind in Europe
00:41and aims to give elephants the closest possible environment to their native Africa,
00:45a home away from home in Europe.
00:48Portugal banned wild animals in circuses in 2018,
00:51but the law only took effect in 2024 to allow circuses to adjust and find solutions.
00:58The Victor Hugo Cardinale Circus had nowhere to send Julie, part of the reason behind the sanctuary.
01:04She is conceived as a new home for elephants from zoos and circuses across Europe.
01:08Ultimately there hasn't been any solution for any zoo, circuses or governments
01:11who are looking for a place to send elephants in these, and basically that's what we're providing.
01:15We're here to work together with those elephant holding facilities and governments to help give elephants a new life.
01:21So our experience with Victor Hugo Cardinale has just been incredibly positive.
01:26I think as soon as we came to that agreement, we were both just so focused on Julie's welfare
01:31and trying to get the best outcome for her.
01:34Yeah, so I just think it's a really good foundation to set to show this is how we're going to
01:38work going forward.
01:39Julie will not be alone for long.
01:41Pangea is already working to receive another elephant from a circus in Belgium
01:46and expects more to follow, with capacity to host between 20 and 30 elephants.
01:51Pangea, a UK trust, opened the sanctuary with funds from various organizations and donors,
01:57among them the comedian Ricky Gervais.
01:59The sanctuary will not be open to the public.
02:01So we're going to take a break.
02:05Here we will.
02:06Petra Generator
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