IDA's position on Tinkerbelle

Recently, Deniz Bolbol, who has worked with In Defense of Animals both as a volunteer and an independent consultant, posted an item related to the care of Tinkerbelle, the elephant from the San Francisco Zoo who was euthanized last week at the PAWS sanctuary.

IDA is dismayed by Deniz's statement and would like to clarify that it represents her personal opinion. It is not shared by IDA.

Deniz worked tirelessly to get Tinkerbelle and Lulu out of the San Francisco Zoo to a sanctuary. She cares deeply about elephants and is grieving over the loss of Tinkerbelle. We share her heartbreak at Tinkerbelle's loss, but we believe that her anger over this situation is misplaced.

The real tragedy over Tinkerbelle's untimely death is the San Francisco Zoo's mistreatment of her. For years, Tinkerbelle and her companion Calle suffered from chronic foot infections and degenerative joint disease. They survived on a steady cocktail of painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs while zoo vets treated their foot problems by cutting away dead and dying flesh. By the time Calle was euthanized in March 2004, she was virtually toeless.

During Calle and Tinkerbelle's long and painful decline, the zoo did nothing to address the underlying causes of these poor elephants' problems – the woefully inadequate conditions in which they were held. Inside the elephant barn, on floors of concrete, Calle and Tinkerbelle were forced to stand for 14 hours a day in their own waste. Outside, in their tiny yard of less than 1⁄4 acre, Calle and Tinkerbelle could not exercise and stood for long hours virtually in one place on hard compacted soil. Years of standing virtually motionless on unyielding surfaces – often in their own waste – wreaked havoc on Calle and Tinkerbelle's feet and joints.

The zoo industry knows that zoo conditions cause these problems. And yet the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) and the SF Zoo did nothing to solve them. Instead they blithely continued to treat the symptoms, painfully cutting away at the elephants' feet, until it was too late. Even after Calle was euthanized, the zoo continued to delay transfer of Tinkerbelle to a sanctuary.

We believe that in delaying the transfer of Tinkerbelle for so long, the zoo industry created an untenable situation for PAWS. Zoo officials knew that Tinkerbelle's condition was debilitated in the extreme. They may have been motivated by the desire to ensure that Tinkerbelle would be killed at PAWS and not the zoo.

Under these conditions, PAWS did what it had to do. Pat Derby personally gave Tinkerbelle round the clock care and companionship. PAWS documented Tinkerbelle's poor condition and allowed zoo vets to consult in Tinkerbelle's care, in coordination with PAWS own veterinarian. PAWS acted carefully in this situation so that Tinkerbelle's passing could not be used by the zoo industry against the sanctuary movement for elephants. And, PAWS did everything it could for Tinkerbelle, including making the agonizing decision to end her life.

For those of us who worked so hard to help Tinkerbelle, it is difficult to come to terms with her loss. But we must focus our anger and frustration on the right target –a zoo industry that consistently places profits ahead of elephant welfare and continues to confine elephants in conditions that cause them to suffer and die.

IDA believes that Calle and Tinkerbelle have not died in vain. Their deaths shined public light on the terrible cost that elephants in zoos are paying for human curiosity. Their deaths have sparked a nationwide re-evaluation of the ethics of keeping elephants in zoos. Their deaths will mean that other elephants – like Wanda and Winky from the Detroit Zoo – will be given a chance at life.

IDA's hope is that all elephant advocates can continue to work together on achieving our goals for elephants. It is unfortunate when our energies are diverted from our real target and our real goals.