IDA Blog

‘Elephants’

On Tuesday, the Topeka City Council voted to continue keeping ailing elephants Sunda and Tembo in their inadequate exhibit at the Topeka Zoo. A special work session to discuss retiring the elephants to a sanctuary had been scheduled to follow the meeting, but political forces opposed to making a decision before a new zoo director is hired were able to present a motion calling for an immediate vote.

Contributing to their efforts was Sedgwick County Zoo (Kansas) director Mark Reed, who showed the AZA’s true colors when it comes to the welfare of animals and protecting the trade association’s sovereignty over zoos and their elephants. (Reed is also a past-chair of the National Elephant Center, a breeding and temporary holding facility to be built in Florida. Think he’s mad that the St. Lucie County Commission said they can’t use bullhooks there? – Reed’s own zoo does.) During a 20-minute red-faced rant, he bullied, threatened and lied to the city council, saying that moving Tembo and Sunda to a sanctuary would “destroy the zoo.” What he meant was that AZA would take down the zoo and make an example of it for any other zoo that wants to do the right thing for its elephants. Despite the fact that no zoo that has sent an elephant to a sanctuary has ever lost its accreditation, he threatened the council with that action, ominously adding that, without AZA accreditation, no more animals would ever come to the zoo. But his most unconscionable threat was directed at the Topeka Zoo’s gorilla, Tiffany, who was left alone after her cage-mate, M’Bili died last year from an aortic aneurysm, at least according to disgraced former Topeka Zoo director Mike Coker. Reed warned the council that the zoo would never be able to bring in another gorilla as a companion for Tiffany and that she would “die alone.”

We already know that the AZA would rather see an animal suffer in substandard conditions than appear to capitulate to those who truly have the animals’ best interests at heart. But to make such a heinous and cruel threat about Tiffany, with obvious relish, is a new low even for AZA. Apparently, AZA and Reed have no qualms about condemning a highly intelligent and social animal to solitary confinement for the rest of her life, in order to punish a zoo that would want to do right by their own elephants.

But there’s more skullduggery. City Manager Norton Bonaparte had invited captive wildlife consultant and veterinarian Dr. Mel Richardson, who has worked with elephants for more than 30 years, to examine and assess Tembo and Sunda. When Dr. Richardson visited the zoo, he was met by a group he assumed were all employed at the Topeka Zoo. Only at the council meeting was it revealed, by Reed, that two members of the group came from the Sedgwick County Zoo – a veterinarian and curator – though they never identified themselves as such to Dr. Richardson. This type of behavior is underhanded, unethical and unprofessional, especially on the part of veterinarian Bill Bryant.

Predictably, Reed reported that his vet was of the opinion that Tembo and Sunda are fine. This is what every zoo says about its ailing elephants, up until the time they can no longer stand on their painfully diseased feet and joints and then die. His report directly contradicted information in the Topeka Zoo medical records and Dr. Richardson’s assessment. In fact, both Tembo and Sunda suffer foot disorders, especially Sunda, who has chronic foot disease involving all four feet, information delivered by Dr. Richardson in his presentation to city council.

Also invited to speak was Carol Buckley, co-founder of The Elephant Sanctuary, who addressed concerns about whether Tembo and Sunda are truly bonded and answered questions relating to the welfare and behavior of animals that have been sent to the sanctuary. Though Tembo, an African elephant, and Sunda, an Asian, have lived together for many years, the Topeka Zoo records reveal a history of aggression between the two elephants that has sometimes resulted in injuries. According to Buckley, bonded elephants at the sanctuary never harm one another.

Representing IDA was elephant campaign director Catherine Doyle who encouraged the city council to listen to facts and not emotional appeals. She urged the council to help the zoo make a fresh start with a focus on animal welfare. While making it clear that IDA was there to help provide information so the city could make an informed decision, she encouraged sending the elephants to a sanctuary.

IDA does not consider the campaign for Tembo and Sunda to be over – far from it. We will continue to fight for these elephants, and all elephants living in unnatural and inadequate conditions, and will keep you informed of anything you can do to help them.

On March 13, 2010, delegates from 175 countries will take part in the 15^th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Amongst dozens of proposals concerning imperiled species worldwide, they’ll be considering dangerous petitions from Tanzania and Zambia to sell more than one hundred thousand kilograms of elephant ivory and to decrease protections for elephants in those countries. Such “one-off” sales in the past have been disastrous for elephants and led to widespread poaching across Africa. Please read our action alert and send a letter today to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, your senators and representative, urging them to ensure the U.S. votes “no” on these lethal proposals.

When Punxsutawney Phil crawls out of his burrow, what he finds may determine whether elephants living in cold-climate zoos will suffer another six weeks of miserable confinement. IDA today released an unprecedented survey showing that scores of elephants are warehoused throughout the long winter months in cruel conditions, many of them hidden from the public.

Elephants living in cold climates will be confined indoors for the vast majority of each day during the winter, left to in small concrete cages where they lack the space they need for healthy movement. Cold weather dramatically increases the suffering that elephants already endure in zoos, where they are dying prematurely from conditions caused by their inadequate environment.

IDA’s survey found that of 75 Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited zoos holding elephants in the U.S. and Canada:

31 out of 75 (41 percent) zoos holding elephants are situated in cities that experience long, frigid winters.

3 out of 4 of zoos holding elephants in cold climates have average mean temperatures below freezing for two to five consecutive months.

Approximately 40 percent of all elephants in AZA zoos will be confined indoors for much of the winter.

To learn more about IDA’s findings and how intensive confinement, especially during cold weather, negatively affects elephants, please read our press release and survey report.

Baby elephant being "trained" to perform unnatural tricks.

In a major victory for elephants that will send shockwaves through the zoo industry, the St. Lucie County Board of Commissioners in Florida made it very clear that the cruel use of bullhooks on elephants is not welcome in their county. The commission today voted to allow the National Elephant Center (NEC), an elephant holding facility and breeding facility, to proceed, but it applied strict conditions that prohibit bullhooks, limit the number of elephants, and encourage the formation of an advisory committee to monitor the NEC.

The commission’s vote serves as a wake-up call for any zoo still using archaic circus-style training that relies on the bullhook, a steel-tipped device used to inflict pain and intimidate elephants with the threat of pain and violence. It’s clear that once the practice is exposed, that the public and elected officials will not tolerate the cruelty it inflicts.

IDA joined with national, state and local organizations to oppose the project, which is intended to facilitate the continued display of elephants in zoos, despite the fact that elephants are suffering and dying prematurely in inadequate exhibits. IDA program director Suzanne Roy addressed the commission, along with representatives from PETA, Animal Rights Foundation of Florida and United for Animals.

IDA will continue to monitor the NEC, as there are outstanding concerns about the facility including:

• NEC will be a breeding and holding facility that shuttles elephants in and out; such transfers are detrimental to elephants and may cause premature death
• Several of the zoos involved with the NEC have a close affiliation with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
• Ringling has stated an interest in sending elephants to NEC

Many zoos and both U.S. sanctuaries do not use bullhooks and instead employ a positive-reinforcement-only style of training that is humane for the elephants and safe for handlers. Do you know how the elephants are trained and managed at your city’s zoo? Call the zoo and ask, and then let us know the zoo’s response. If your zoo is still using bullhooks, make it clear that you oppose the use of this cruel device and urge the zoo to switch to using “protected contact” management only.

Thanks to all the Florida residents who wrote and called the St. Lucie County commissioners, opposing the project!

San Rafael, Calif. – In Defense of Animals (IDA), joined by a top authority on elephant behavior and biology, today strongly criticized the St. Louis Zoo for recklessly breeding elephants. The charge follows an announcement by the zoo that the elephant Rani is again pregnant, despite serious complications following the last two births at the zoo and the threat posed by a deadly elephant virus.

For full press release, click here.

Watoto at the Woodland Park Zoo waiting to get out.

IDA just released its 2009 list of the Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants, which exposes the hidden suffering of elephants in zoos. In its sixth year, the list highlights how confinement of these giants to tiny enclosures wreaks havoc on their physical and psychological health and leads to premature death for many. For the first time, the list includes a Canadian entry, the Toronto Zoo.

We’ve already been inundated with calls from the media from cities across North America including Honolulu, Toledo, Houston, Chicago (Brookfield Zoo) and Toronto, helping to bring attention to the plight of elephants suffering in zoos.

See the full list of zoos, plus two new inductees into the Worst Zoos for Elephants Hall of Shame, by clicking here.

Photo credit 'Buckles Blog' : Josky, second from left, performing for Ringling in 1973

The elephant Josky, whose son Ned was the second elephant in history to be confiscated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), was euthanized last week at the Ringling breeding center in Florida. According to Ringling’s announcement, she suffered from “declining health” though she was only 42 years old.

Though Josky performed briefly for Ringling’s circus, she was mostly used as a breeding elephant, and she produced five babies that we know of during her life. Each birth would have been like this one, with Josky chained by three legs and handlers using bullhooks to control her every move.

Elephants’ family bonds are intense; daughters stay with their mothers for their entire lives, and sons well into their teen years. Circuses destroy those bonds, and Josky endured the trauma of having every one of her babies taken from her, likely before they were a year old and well before they would even have finished nursing

The suffering inherent in circus life is demonstrated in the histories of Josky’s babies. They all endured painful and terrifying training. That was only the beginning of the misery for Josky’s babies, including the two sons that died before her:

• Benjamin died in 1999 at age 4, while traveling with a Ringling show. He drowned evading a bullhook-wielding handler who was trying to get him out of the water.
• Nedperformed in circuses from a very young age, and was reportedly sold to his last trainer, who had a history of animal abuse, for $1. Acting on reports of his emaciated condition, the USDA confiscated him in November of 2007 and brought him to The Elephant Sanctuary. Sadly, it was too late for Ned to be helped, and he died in May of 2008.

Josky’s surviving offspring continue to suffer with Ringling and in a Mexican zoo:

• Benny, born in 1991, was passed around a number of circuses before being illegally sold in 2000 and then smuggled across the border into Mexico. Discovered performing for a circus there, he was confiscated by the Mexican authorities and taken to a zoo. Attempts to repatriate him have failed so far.
• Luna, now 26, performs with Ringling as she has for 20 years. Eyewitnesses have repeatedly reported Luna being bullhooked by Ringling handlers in recent years. She is rarely walked in public and instead driven by truck between train and arena, reportedly because she is an especially dangerous and very angry elephant.
• P.T. is not quite 8 years old. When he was five, Ringling attempted to use him in the circus but, according to a whistleblower account, he attacked trainer Joe Frisco. Ringling would admit only that P.T. “did not adapt well to life with the circus”. He has been confined to the breeding center ever since.

The sad stories of Josky and her babies Benjamin, Ned, Benny, Luna and P.T., are by no means rare among elephants used in the circus industry. Denied everything natural to them – family, room to roam, and the ability to make choices in their lives – they endure. Or, like Josky and her sons, they die before their time.

Please work with IDA to end circus’ exploitation of elephants. Send a quick email to the USDA here. And stay tuned as we continue to take action on behalf of elephants in circuses.

This blog was contributed by Deborah Robinson, IDA’s Captive Elephant Specialist.

The Reality for Circus Elephants - Photo Credit: Born Free USA

Yesterday, in the case of ASPCA et al. v. Feld Entertainment/Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, Judge Emmett Sullivan ruled against the advocates for elephants on technical grounds – concluding that plaintiffs Tom Rider and the Animal Protection Institute (API) had not established the standing required for bringing a lawsuit in federal court. The case was dismissed on a legal technicality; the judge never addressed the merits of the case or the claim that the circus’ routine beating and chaining of elephants violates the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

We will have more to say about this monumental legal case as we analyze and digest the judge’s 57-page decision, but we reiterate that this ruling is by no means an endorsement of Ringling’s treatment of their elephants, or even a finding that the elephants are treated humanely or appropriately.

Ringling will no doubt try to spin the decision as a victory for the circus, but it is not a vindication of their brutal training and management practices. In fact, the record established by this trial documents Ringling’s routine abuse of elephants, as Ringling employees and even CEO Kenneth Feld acknowledged under oath and in sworn documentation that:

the elephants are routinely hit with bullhooks,

they are regularly chained in box cars for more than 26 hours at a time and for as long as 100 hours without a break while traveling across the country for 11 months of the year, and for as much as 22½ hours each day in Ringling’s breeding center,

baby elephants are forcibly separated from their mothers for training at age two or younger.

The trial record will stand as a stunning indictment of this circus and its archaic elephant acts, though we will have to wait a bit longer for legal redress.

IDA and all elephant advocates owe a huge debt of gratitude to the attorneys, organizations and individuals behind this lawsuit, including lead Plaintiff Tom Rider, the former Ringling employee who made the legal action possible. We are disappointed that there was no decision on Ringling’s treatment of its elephants, but you can be sure we will continue the fight until there are no more elephants performing in circuses anywhere.

This blog was contributed by Deborah Robinson, IDA’s Captive Elephant Specialist.

Nine elephants who survived the grim and punishing assaults of being forcibly captured from the wild and then endured the harrowing training methods for elephant back safaris at a Zimbabwe ranch—with its sickening smell of human injustice, along with chains, severe deprivation, and torturous taming methods—were rescued in an elation-bringing moment by the Zimbabwe National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Against Animals (ZNSPCA) and have now been released into Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Fully recovered from injuries incurred during the breaking and training process, radio collars for tracking reveals the elephants are now forming new bonds as a herd, and socializing well with one another in the intricately unified and sophisticated world of elephant social groups.

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