Zimbabwe's Environment Minister, Ndlovu Nqobizitha Mangaliso, defends capturing juvenile elephants, saying taking them away from their mothers and herds from Hwange National Park and shipping them off to Chinese zoo's and theme parks, is preferable to having to cull the herds.  Ndlovu Nqobizitha Mangaliso also says that these elephants get used to humans in close proximity and that they make sure they are acclimatized to the environment where they will be going.  He adds that he doesn't know why people are being traumatized by this.

This is why he is wrong:  The capture of elephants has devastating consequences for both the calves torn from their families and the remaining herd: the young elephants, who are completely dependent on their mothers for their physical and psychological well-being, are deeply traumatized by the separation and the stress of being transported over long distances. In many cases, they do not survive the experience. 

We want to put an end to the cruel trafficking of elephant calves. We want to ensure that the captured elephants are returned to their herds under the supervision of conservation organizations.  The sale of vulnerable and endangered animals for the purpose of exhibiting them in zoos and circuses runs counter to Zimbabwe’s reputation as a haven for wildlife and is thus extremely damaging to efforts to promote tourism.