Funds Needed
Help Our Elephants Travel in Style!
Elephant Refuge North America (ERNA) will offer the next generation of care for captive-held elephants. We want our elephants to know that life will be different from the moment they set foot in our transport trailer.
That’s why we are customizing a used closed-van trailer to be chain free.
It’s traditional to chain elephants in transport for their security. But we are creating a custom safety enclosure that eliminates the need for chains. Our elephants will travel in comfort and style to their new lives of autonomy and choice.
Functional Design
The safety enclosure is a steel pipe cage-like structure welded to the inside of the trailer. The width gives an elephant ample room to enter, exit and shift her weight unobstructed during transport.
Another safety feature of this design is that it prevents an elephant from turning around, which could cause the load to become unbalanced, or lying down, which would require immediate intervention. The design also allows for a belly strap in the event that an elephant requires assistance standing during transport.
How You Can Help
The cost of constructing the enclosure is $32,000. With your help, elephants retiring to ERNA will never know another chain in their lives.
Donations of any amount will help:
- $10: labor cost to weld one vertical pipe top and bottom
- $20: welder labor for one hour
- $25: one foot of steel pipe
- $250: one full vertical pipe
- $1,250: blue prints
Thank you for your support!
