Where do elephants belong? Zoos, animal rights groups differ over captive pachyderms

The Sunday, June 19, San Diego Union Tribune (home of what is arguably America's most famous zoo) has a lengthy front page story headed, "Where do elephants belong? Zoo industry, animal rights groups differ over what constitutes humane treatment for captive pachyderms."

It opens:
"They are a natural spectacle: elephants, with their flapping ears and loose skin like baggy trousers. Many people grew up watching these graceful giants at zoos.

"But recent controversies in several cities across the country – including the deaths of three elephants that once lived at the San Diego Zoo – spotlight an issue that animal rights advocates are rallying around: Is it humane to keep the largest land mammal on an acre or less, as many zoos do? That question is fast becoming the center of a growing national debate."

We learn that "seven U.S. zoos have given up their elephants in as many years."

There is a great quote from Ron Kagan, the director of the Detroit Zoo, which recently released its elephants to sanctuary:

"The human desire to collect creatures and be amused by them has not served animals well. Zoo professionals are now struggling to find an ethical foundation. Are we animal advocates or just entertainers?"

Recent events that centered in San Diego are discussed:
The Zoological Society of San Diego, which operates the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park near Escondido, stands center stage in the elephant debate. The society infuriated animal rights groups when it imported seven wild African elephants from Swaziland in 2003. Zoo officials said they were rescuing the young elephants, which were scheduled to be killed because of overpopulation at an animal park there.
To make room for the newcomers, the zoo sent three older elephants – Peaches, Tatima and Wankie – to Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo.

"Tatima died in October from a long-standing infection, said zoo officials, and Peaches died in January of old age. Wankie collapsed after being transferred to a Utah zoo from Chicago and was euthanized in May. Zoo officials don't regret the move to Chicago, saying there's no evidence that it hurt the elephants. Animal rights advocates have protested, saying the move and the cold weather worsened their conditions."

And we learn, "The next debates may be in El Paso, Texas, and Los Angeles."

The article describes the elephant enclosures at various zoos considered amongst the world's best, where the elephants have one or two acres, and comments, "That's not enough space for animals that roam 20 to 50 miles a day in the wild, animal rights groups say."

There is a strong quote from Joyce Poole, an animal behaviorist who studied elephants for 30 years in Africa: "Zoos should not be lending elephants here and there, separating mothers from calves, splitting families and friends. To keep a group together means space. They need space outside. They need space to be elephants."

You can read the whole article (it is long and detailed) on line at:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20050619-9999-lz1n19elephan.html
OR http://tinyurl.com/82ldo

We can keep the issue alive with letters to the editor about the need to get elephants out of zoos, and against the use of captive wild animals for human entertainment. http://www.SaveWildElephants.com is a good resource.

The San Diego Union Tribune takes letters at letters [at] uniontrib.com

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be published.


(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. If you forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts, please do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)