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INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION FOR ELEPHANTS IN ZOOS: JOIN IDA’s VIRTUAL DEMONSTRATION ON SATURDAY!

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION FOR ELEPHANTS IN ZOOS: JOIN IDA’s VIRTUAL DEMONSTRATION ON SATURDAY!

Please replace your profile pictures with the Virtual Demo "Sign"

Please replace your profile pictures with the Virtual Demo "Sign"

Saturday, June 11, is the International Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos, when activists around the world will be sending a message that elephants just don’t belong in cramped, unnatural displays that shorten their lives by decades.

This year, everyone can help the elephants, no matter where you live, by participating in a virtual demonstration on Facebook and Twitter. It’s easy to do and a great way to spread the word that it’s time to stop the elephants’ suffering.

Here’s how it works:

Facebook Instructions – Speak up for Elephants in 3 easy steps!

1. Make sure you have your protest “sign“. All you have to do is right click on the “Elephants Suffer” image and choose “Save” to get this “sign”. Replace your profile photo to your “sign” and keep it up all weekend!

2. Go through the zoo list and “Like” the promotional pages for these zoos. This will allow you to post comments on their pages:

United States

  • Albuquerque Biological Park, Albuquerque, NM
  • Audubon Zoo, Audubon, LA
  • Birmingham Zoo, Birmingham, AL
  • BREC’s Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge, LA
  • Bronx Zoo, Bronx, NY
  • Buffalo Zoological Gardens, Buffalo, NY
  • Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay, FL
  • Buttonwood Park Zoo, New Bedford, MA
  • Caldwell Zoo, Tyler, TX
  • Cameron Park Zoo, Waco, TX
  • Chaffee Zoological Gardens, Fresno, CA
  • Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs, CO
  • Cincinnati Zoo, Cincinnati, OH
  • Cleveland Metro Park Zoo, Cleveland, OH
  • Columbus Zoo, Columbus, OH
  • Dallas Zoo, Dallas, TX
  • Denver Zoo, Denver, CO
  • Dickerson Park Zoo, Springfield, MO
  • Disney Animal Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, FL
  • El Paso Zoo, El Paso, TX
  • Fort Worth Zoo, Ft. Worth, TX
  • Greenville Zoo, Greenville, SC
  • Hogle Zoo, Salt Lake City, UT
  • Honolulu Zoo, Honolulu, HI
  • Houston Zoological Gardens, Houston, TX
  • Indianapolis Zoo, Indianapolis, IN
  • Jacksonville Zoological Gardens, Jacksonville, FL
  • Kansas City Zoo, Kansas City, MO
  • Knoxville Zoo, Knoxville, TN
  • Lee Richardson Zoo, Garden City, KS
  • Little Rock Zoo, Little Rock, AK
  • Los Angeles Zoo, Los Angeles, CA
  • Louisville Zoological Gardens, Louisville, KY
  • Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa, FL
  • Maryland Zoo, Baltimore, MD
  • Memphis Zoo, Memphis, TN
  • Miami Metro Zoo, Miami, FL
  • Milwaukee Zoological Garden, Milwaukee, WI
  • Montgomery Zoo, Montgomery, AL
  • Nashville Zoo, Nashville, TN
  • Niabi Zoo, Coal Valley, IL
  • North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro, NC
  • Oakland Zoo, Oakland, CA
  • Oklahoma City Zoo, Oklahoma City, OK
  • Oregon Zoo, Portland, OR
  • Phoenix Zoo, Phoenix, AZ
  • Pittsburgh Zoo, Pittsburgh, PA
  • Point Defiance Zoo, Tacoma, WA
  • Reid Park Zoo, Tuscon, AZ
  • Riverbanks Zoo, Columbia, SC
  • Roger Williams Park Zoo, Providence RI
  • Rosamond Gifford Zoo, Syracuse, NY
  • St. Louis Zoological Park, St. Louis, MO
  • San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, TX
  • San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Escondido, CA
  • San Diego Zoo, San Diego, CA
  • Santa Barbara Zoo, Santa Barbara, CA
  • Sedgwick County Zoo, Wichita, KS
  • Seneca Park Zoo, Rochester, NY
  • Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo, CA
  • Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington, DC
  • Toledo Zoo, Toledo, OH
  • Topeka Zoological Park, Topeka, KS
  • Tulsa Zoo and Living Museum, Tulsa, OK
  • Virginia Zoo, Norfolk, VA
  • Wildlife Safari, Winston, OR
  • Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, WA
  • Zoo Atlanta, Atlanta, GA

Canada

  • Bowmanville Zoo (Ontario)
  • Calgary Zoo (Alberta)
  • Granby Zoo (Quebec)
  • Toronto Zoo (Ontario)

3. Starting on Saturday June 11th, start posting your comments! Remember that your comments will be seen by followers of all ages and comments that include profanity or can be interpreted as “abusive” will probably be removed before the general public gets a chance to read them and may result in your profile being reported and/or deleted by Facebook. IDA is not responsible for any comments you may leave or action that results.

Twitter Instructions:

1. Make sure you have your protest “sign“. All you have to do is right click on the “Elephants Suffer” image and choose “Save” to get this “sign”. Replace your profile photo to your “sign” and keep it up all weekend!

2. Go through the zoo list above and “Follow” these pages. This will allow you to send them direct messages and Tweets using the @. here’s an example of how this works – you Tweet : @ZooAtl Elephants need more space than urban zoos can provide. It’s cruel to keep elephants in zoos!

And that Tweet goes directly to the Zoo Atlanta Twitter page.

3. Encourage your friends to join your Twitter Demo! Tweet to them to also change their profile image to their “sign”. Here is an example of a Tweet you can use to encourage them to Tweet the zoos you are Tweeting: FF! Follow these zoos ( Then list a bunch of Twitter pages for zoos with elephants and put a @ before their address. Example : @ZooAtl ) & Tweet about what you think of zoos!

4. Starting on Saturday June 19th, start sending direct messages and Tweeting to the zoos you are following using the Reply function. Here is are some examples of a great Twitter Demo Tweet: @ZooAtl is no fun for the Elephants who live there. OR Elephants belong in the wild not @ZooAtl

5, You can run your Twitter Demo all day – Rain or Shine! But remember messages and Tweets that include profanity or can be interpreted as “abusive” may result in your profile being reported and/or deleted by Twitter. IDA is not reasonable for any messages or Tweets sent or action that results.

Here are some quick messages you can send (but feel free to create your own):

Elephants are suffering and dying prematurely in zoos.

Elephants should not suffer for our entertainment!

Elephant captivity does not equal conservation.

Elephants need more space than urban zoos can provide.

It’s cruel to keep elephants in zoos.

The largest zoo exhibit is still not big enough to meet elephants’ complex needs.

Inadequate conditions for elephants cause them to suffer painful foot disease and arthritis, infertility, and high infant mortality and stillbirth rates, and aberrant behaviors.

Repetitive rocking, swaying and head bobbing are signs of psychological distress; elephants don’t do this in the wild!

The life of an elephant in a zoo = misery, disease and early death.

Think about it: Elephants have a natural life span of 60-70 years, yet they are dying decades before their time in zoos. You call that conservation?

Time to ban the bullhook in zoos! Stop cruel, circus-style training!

Think about it: North American zoos will spend about half a billion dollars on remodeling exhibits that still will be too small for elephants. That money could protect entire populations of elephants in Africa and Asia!

Think about it: Zoos spend more than $25million a year to display fewer than 300 elephants. That money could protect entire populations of elephants in Africa and Asia!

The world’s leading elephant experts say elephants don’t belong in urban zoos. Why aren’t zoos listening?

Think about it: Scientific research shows that elephants in zoos have far shorter life expectancies than those in the wild.

Keeping elephants in zoos will not save them in the wild.

Elephants don’t belong in cold weather zoos!

To find out how you can help elephants year round – CLICK HERE to Join IDA’s Elephant Task Force!

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