Animal Rights Activists Upset with Treatment and Passing of Tinkerbelle

After Calle's death last year many activists worked tirelessly for months (letter writing, attending City meetings, leafleting the zoo every weekend, gathering signatures, monitoring the elephants in the zoo, etc) to get Tinkerbelle, Maybelle and Lulu out of the Zoo and away from those who literally cut up Calle's feet.

I would like to express my dismay that, against Tinkerbelle's best interests, PAWS allowed Zoo vets to go to PAWS to cut at her feet.

I am very disappointed that Pat Derby did not act in good faith and call IDA or me to alert us to Tinkerbelle's deteriorating state. That she would not set aside differences and contact folks at The Elephant Sanctuary (where they have had success with foot problems) to see if they could come out to assess and potentially help.

I am deeply disturbed that Pat Derby did not follow the direction of the SF Board of Supervisors who voted unanimously to transfer ownership of Tinkerbelle and Lulu to PAWS; instead PAWS signed an agreement with the Zoo that allows them to share custody with the Zoo and allows the Zoo to remain involved in their care. The same vets and caregivers who cut up Calle's feet, refused to send her to a sanctuary and caused her early death; they watched her literally rot away. This is the reason we wanted Tinkerbelle and the other elephants away from the zoo and why we fought for the Board to transfer ownership.

I told Pat approximately July through November (before Tinkerbelle's move) that Tinkerbelle's feet were getting worse the more vet Freeland Dunker cut her feet (I have videotape of her feet in relatively good condition and the progression); the more he cut, the worse her feet got. Pat dismissed all my concerns about her feet.

The Elephant Sanctuary has had success with foot problems with apple cider vinegar soaks. I was told by Pat that she continued the novasan and Epsom salt soaks as prescribed by the Zoo and that she sprayed Tinkerbelle's feet with apple cider vinegar (did not soak in vinegar). Zoo staff told me that Freeland and other staff went to PAWS to work on Tinkerbelle.

This is a very sad conclusion for a very sad life. Poor Tinkerbelle.
She suffered her entire life.


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Bay area briefs
Daily Journal wire reports

SF Zoo’s Tinkerbelle elephant euthanized

Tinkerbelle, the San Francisco Zoo’s last Asian elephant, was euthanized Thursday afternoon after collapsing earlier that day at a sanctuary, Zoo spokesman Nancy Chan announced Friday.

The decision to euthanize Tinkerbelle came after sanctuary staff determined her quality of life was quickly deteriorating, Pat Derby, co-director of the sanctuary, reported. Tinkerbelle suffered from a degenerative foot condition common to elephants held in captivity, Derby said. The elephant’s feet were developing painful abscesses from the weight of her body.

The foot condition is incurable and the symptoms can only be treated, Derby said. Tinkerbelle’s feet were judged to be untreatable and she was put down.

Tinkerbelle died only four months after she was moved to her new home, the Performing Animal Welfare Society’s (PAWS) sanctuary in San Andreas, Bob Jenkins, director of animal care and conservation at the zoo reported.

An animal rights activist reacted angrily to the news. Denise Bolbol, an activist who helped spearhead the effort that lead to Tinkerbelle’s move from the zoo, claimed that the sanctuary did not provide adequate space or equipment for Tinkerbelle’s needs and zoo veterinarian staff had caused her health to decline by cutting her feet while she lived at the zoo and were also giving her medical attention at the sanctuary.

from http://www.smdailyjournal.org/article.cfm?issue=03-26-05&storyID=41225