elephants killed for wanting to be free

Here's another story with basically the same plot. I think this is despicable.

Six elephants shot dead after S.Africa park escape
13 Sep 2005 08:53:19 GMT

Source: Reuters
JOHANNESBURG, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Six elephants were shot dead last week after they broke out of South Africa's famed Kruger National Park, a park spokesman said on Tuesday.

William Mabasa said the elephants escaped from the park on Thursday afternoon and were then driven back into it. "But then on Friday we received a report that they were about 20 kms (12 miles) west of the park," he said. "It was difficult to push them back into the park from that distance and they were near a school, posing a danger to local villagers. So a decision was taken to put them down."

Mabasa said meat from the animals had been given to the local community. He said there was no apparent reason for the behaviour of the elephants, which broke through a fence. Kruger covers an area roughly the same size as Israel.

It has seen its elephant population swell to nearly 12,000 from around 7,000 a decade ago, when the practice of using lethal culls to contain numbers was stopped in the face of international protests. Some scientists believe elephant numbers at Kruger are reaching breaking point, with the confined wilderness unable to provide the giant animals with enough food.