Elephants kept in captivity at zoos and safari parks live short, stressed and unhealthy lives, says a report calling for huge changes to living conditions.

　　The independent Oxford University study, funded by the RSPCA, found that Asian elephants in European zoos live on average only 15 years, compared with between 60 and 65 in the wild.

　　The RSPCA is now calling for a complete halt to new elephants being sent to zoos in Britain and Europe, and an end to any captive breeding programmes.

　　There are currently thought to be approximately 500 elephants in zoos and circuses in Europe.

　　It believes that no zoo or safari park in the UK is capable of providing satisfactory conditions to keep elephants in good condition.

　　The Oxford study, led by zoologists Drs Ros Clubb and Georgia Mason, looked at striking evidence of poor welfare.

　　Dr Clubb said: "It showed that about 35% of zoo females fail to breed, that between 15% and 25% of Asian elephant calves are stillborn, and that another 6% to 18% are rejected or even killed by their mothers.

　　"We were shocked at what emerged. Now the urgent need is to find out how to solve these problems." The RSPCA also wants to see traditional "free contact" between zookeepers and elephants phased out.

　　The study found evidence that elephants in some European zoos were still performing circus-style tricks for visitors, and the RSPCA believes that brutal techniques are used in some places to "break in" young elephants so they become more docile.

　　The body also calls for improvements to enclosures to protect their welfare. These might include pools, rubbing and scratching posts, mud wallows, and even heated rubber flooring.

　　However, 90% of the enclosures surveyed in Europe had no areas in which the elephants could graze naturally.