How long will she have to suffer in silence before we will find the courage of conviction to speak out? In South Africa animals suffer terribly as a result of the inabilities of humans to address their plight. Many wild animals including highly endangered species spend their days miserable and unhappy while we entertain our children at their expense. We pay to have our kids photographed while playing with their babies that had been forcibly removed from them. Many of them are regarded as valuable breeding stock and their owners will continue to breed with them.Unfortunately the welfare of wild animals in small private zoos as well as in the wildlife industry is not protected and secured by existing legislation, welfare organisations or conservation authorities. Sometimes even the veterinary fraternity fails to protect many of these animals as their members simply ignore their plight. There are serious complaints about the welfare practices and conditions at a number of these facilities - with questionable disease control policies, poor veterinary management and husbandry and no control on breeding etc.Neither the conservation authorities nor the official animal welfare agencies are able to control the welfare of conservation aspects of these institutions. Our legal system and national environmental policy support sustainable utilisation and have effectively made many wild animals including endangered species and large predators a commercial commodity. A deeply concerning trend.Animal welfare and the conservation of endangered species is a public concern and we, as the public have a right to know what is going on. The Tuli elephant court case clearly proved this. The NSPCA were able to obtain video evidence of the beatings and cruelty to the elephant right at the beginning of the issue. They were prevented from publicising the video evidence by a court order obtained by Mr Ghiazza. It was more than six months - 18 months of further cruelty, major legal and media battles etc before the NSPCA were able to expose the cruelty. The system has failed to protect these animals - and the only chance that there is of preventing further abuse, is for the public to find the courage of conviction and continue to expose it. Only by getting actively involved, will the public pressure force the authorities to address the problems. We all have a right to know and the authorities the responsibility to demand action