Controversy over keeping elephants in zoos

On Monday, June 12, ABC's World News Tonight covered the controversy over keeping elephants in zoos. The piece was evenhanded, presenting the zoo and the animal rights points of view, with the strongest quote coming from California Assemblyperson Lloyd Levine, who said, "As much as we may like to see them, they do not exist for our amusement." But the severe problems faced by elephants were not explored -- for example it was mentioned that they develop joint and foot problems, but not that those problems prove fatal since elephants cannot spend extended time lying down.

You can view the piece on line at:
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2067194&page=1

There is also a text version of the story there, though it is not the transcript of the piece. For example in the text version, the Bob Barker quote is the following:
"I would personally like to see every zoo in the world closed. Elephants have been exploited, they have been mistreated, they have been literally beaten and some of them killed. People want that changed."
Unfortunately the video version includes only the first sentence of that quote.

Since most of the public doesn't even know that elephants fare badly in zoos and that the issue is controversial, the story was a step forward, so please thank ABC World News Tonight for covering the issue, and please, in your note, express support for giving sanctuary to the elephants. The show takes feedback at: http://abc.go.com/site/contactus.html?cat=World%20News%20Tonight

Also, Time Magazine, inspired by the death of Gita, has published a web-exclusive follow-up to the current print issue's story on zoos. Headed, "Are Zoos Killing Elephants? The death of a beloved pachyderm in Los Angeles intensifies the growing pressure on zoos to rethink their animal exhibits," it is on line at: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1203076,00.html

The piece from the print addition, about which I sent an alert yesterday, is headed "Who Belongs in the Zoo?" and is on line at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1202920,00.html
Time Magazine takes letters at letters [at] time.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.

I thank Lisa Kane for drawing our attention to Time's follow-up piece.


(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.)