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Indian elephant - Source: ONE News -
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Jumbo has been told he's not welcome in Dunedin.
The African elephant was to have arrived with the travelling Loritz Circus for shows over Easter, after being granted an exemption by a Dunedin City Council committee this month from rules banning exotic animals from council-owned reserves.
But after receiving further information on the animal's treatment from the Save Animals From Exploitation (Safe) campaign group the full council on Monday overturned the decision and banned Jumbo.
Safe campaign officer Sacha Dowell says her group has provided the council with what she says is evidence the 35-year-old elephant is being kept in breach of a code of welfare.
That included photographs of a chain around the animal's foot that was not properly covered with plastic to keep it from contact with the skin.
Loritz marketing manager Paul Johnson says the council has been "conned" by Safe."
The circus will still come to the Oval, Dunedin, next week, but an "alternative site" for Jumbo needs to be found.
