Against Elephants in Zoos

In a fun little confluence of coverage, the Monday, June 19 edition of the Australian paper, The Age (Melbourne) includes an op-ed against keeping elephants in zoos, written by David Hancocks, a former director of Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, the day after Seattle's Post-Intelligencer (Sunday, June 18, pg D5) ran an editorial headed "Seattle's Zoo: Free Bamboo."

Hancocks' piece, in The Age, is headed, "Save elephants from zoos." It opens:
"Thirty years ago, at my desk one dreary morning, I listened to abuse from a mother demanding to know why I would deny her children the right to see an elephant. As the new director of the zoo in Seattle, Washington, one of my first recommendations had been to send our two elephants to a place with a warmer climate and more space.

"In addition to calls from irate mothers, my proposal generated hate mail from schools. Journalists asked how we could be a zoo if we didn't have an elephant. A politician suggested that if I raised the topic again I would be the one leaving town, not the elephants.

"The response today might be different. In recent years, zoos in Detroit, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, Chicago, London and Bristol, recognising they cannot meet the complex social, behavioural, psychological and spatial needs of elephants, have closed their exhibits or are phasing them out. Other zoos, in Tucson, Anchorage, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and, sadly, Seattle, are being dragged kicking and screaming into a rapidly growing public debate across America about zoos and elephants."

He writes about the intelligence and sensitivity of elephants, then tells us:
"Typically, zoo elephants lead stoic lives marked by depression, foot rot, bone disease, obesity, and boredom. Zoo elephants die younger than their wild brethren, and most of them suffer ailments from a combination of inactivity, inappropriate diets, loneliness, inadequate housing, lack of space, and stress. A study by the RSPCA in England four years ago revealed so many concerns they recommended importation and breeding of zoo elephants should stop.

He comments on the idea that zoos will help conserve the species:
"No credible authority on elephant conservation supports the idea that zoo breeding is necessary. Only zoos seem to think this is a good and useful action. Is it possible that their eagerness for baby elephants might be because an elephant birth guarantees huge increases in zoo attendance? The track record for successful breeding, however, is not good. No Australian zoo has ever bred an elephant. The approximately 130 Asian elephants in American zoos have produced 12 offspring since 2000. Seven of those were born dead or died within days of birth."

He ends his piece with a comment on Australia's attempt to import eight baby elephants from Thailand:

"Concerned Thai nationals have temporarily prevented the shipment of the elephants destined for Australia. There is now a question whether the shipment will take place at all. It will be a wonderfully courageous and noble decision if the zoos decide not to pursue the importation. In any case, it is a question that deserves careful community deliberation.

"Guy Cooper, CEO of Taronga Zoo, claims that his new exhibit is 'a Four Seasons Hotel for elephants'. Do we really have the right to take animals as sociable, intelligent, vigorous, perceptive, communicative, and complex as elephants, and give them the equivalent of spending the rest of their lives with four other people in a hotel room? Couldn't the debate be taken to higher level than this simplistic spin?"

You'll find the whole piece on line, accompanied by a terrific cartoon that appeared in the paper, at http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/06/18/1150569207616.html

I urge all Australian advocates, and those elsewhere particularly involved with this issue, to send supportive letters to the editor. The Age takes letters at letters [at] theage.com.au and advises, "All letters and email (no attachments) to The Age must carry the sender's home address and day and evening phone numbers for verification. Letter writers who would like receipt of their letters acknowledged should send a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Ideally, letters will be a maximum of 200 words."

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorial (the editorial page's official opinion) opens:

"Seattle has little to be proud of in its recent handling of one of its zoo's signature animals, Bamboo. The elephant deserves better.

We learn that the Northwest Animal Rights Network (NARN) has filed suit, and the editorial suggests, "The city ought to settle what could become an increasingly embarrassing suit by moving Bamboo from the zoo's acre enclosure to a 2,700-acre elephant sanctuary in Tennessee."

Unfortunately we learn, "There's been talk of eventually shipping her elsewhere, partly to make room for any additional babies."

We read of Bamboo's history of sociability and that "Under a more relaxed management (before a shocking era of all-night chainings), she made friends with keepers." And we read that NARN has collected affidavits "suggesting that poor treatment has made Bamboo unhappy, harmed her psychologically and put her at risk of early death."

It ends:

"There's one other sanctuary besides the one in Tennessee that might be an option. Some other U.S. zoos have more space than Woodland Park, although integrating elephants in small groups is always tricky. But if Seattle's political leaders intend to keep Bamboo captive here, they, and not the zoo experts behind whom they have hidden like frightened prey, have a lot of explaining to do."

You will find the whole piece on line at http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/274249_bambooed.asp?source=mypi

You can send a supportive letter to the editor against holding wild animals captive for human entertainment, including your full name, address, and phone number, to editpage [at] seattlepi.com


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