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Bowmanville Zoo Protest

Bowmanville Zoo Protest

Elephant-Sized Demonstration at Bowmanville Zoo [singlepic id=222 w=320 h=240 float=right]

IDA wants to thank all of our supporters who attended a demonstration at the Bowmanville Zoo in Ontario, Canada. In Defense of Animals (IDA), the Kebek Animal Rights Association (KARA), and the Durham Animal Rights Alliance (DARA) joined forces on the zoo’s opening day on April 27th to speak out for Limba—one of three elephants living a life of solitary confinement in zoos in Canada.

More than 80 people attended the demonstration to raise awareness about Limba’s plight and urge the zoo to send Limba to a facility that can better meet her social and physical needs. Supporters held signs that read “Limba Deserves Better,” “Honk to Free Limba,” and “Bowmanville Zoo Exploits Animals for Profit.” The zoo attempted to stage a counter demo and offered free admission to anyone who agreed to hold a sign for the zoo. Yet in the end, the zoo’s efforts to stem the surge of support for Limba fell flat.

[singlepic id=221 w=240 h=160 float=left]Protestors pointed out that after spending the long winter months indoors in cramped quarters, it’s back to business as usual for Limba. The zoo uses Limba as a primary moneymaker, forcing her to perform tricks in the circus and renting her out for fairs, parades, movies, commercials, and parties. The undignified acts Limba is forced to perform do nothing to educate or promote the understanding of elephants. Keepers also manage Limba with a bullhook—a sharp metal tool used to control elephants by jabbing, hooking, striking, and instilling fear in them.

The Bowmanville Zoo made IDA’s 2012 list of Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants for housing a solitary elephant, its archaic management methods, inadequate exhibit, and for maintaining an elephant in a cold climate.

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