NATIONAL ANIMAL PROTECTION ORGANIZATION CONDEMNS AZA DECISION ON DETROIT ELEPHANTS

Mill Valley, Calif. - In Defense of Animals (IDA) has fired off a letter to Sydney Butler, Executive Director of the American Zoo & Aquarium Association (AZA), blasting the industry trade group’s rationale behind the decision to send two aging Asian elephants from the Detroit Zoo to the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium in Ohio. The decision effectively quashes the Detroit Zoo’s wish to send both elephants to an accredited elephant sanctuary. In Defense of Animals is urging Butler to declare the two pachyderms "surplus" animals, thereby allowing the Detroit Zoo to send Wanda and Winky – ages 46 and 51—to a sanctuary as planned. According to IDA, the AZA can categorize the elephants as "surplus" animals since the pachyderms are no longer an integral part of the AZA’s Species Survival Plan breeding objectives.

The Detroit Zoo set a national precedent in May of this year when it announced it was closing its elephant exhibit, based solely on ethical considerations. This closely followed the San Francisco Zoo’s decision to retire its pachyderms to a sanctuary after the death of two elephants at that facility. Detroit Zoo director Ron Kagan has stated that elephants “are the only animals at the zoo for which there is a great disparity between what they need and what we can provide.” Kagan’s wish was to retire both Wanda and Winky – who have formed a strong, 10-year bond – to an elephant sanctuary in a more favorable climate. Both elephants suffer serious health problems that have been exacerbated by harsh Detroit winters.

“It is abundantly clear that the AZA decision is not in the best interest of Winky and Wanda,” states IDA Executive Director Elliot Katz, who is also a veterinarian. “A sanctuary would provide optimum care and a superior quality of life for these old elephants. Sending them to another zoo in a cold climate is a death sentence.”

Wanda is presently taking anti-inflammatory medication for chronic arthritis in her front legs, and Winky has chronic foot problems that cause her to sleep standing up, which is unnatural for elephants. These often-fatal conditions are common among zoo elephants. They are created by life in captivity, where surfaces are too hard and space and exercise are restricted. In contrast, elephants in the wild are known to walk 30 miles a day on a variety of natural surfaces.

According to Les Schobert, a former zoo curator and elephant expert, Wanda and Winky will have less space to roam at Columbus Zoo. He explains: “At Detroit Zoo the two elephants share one acre, and the zoo director has determined that is not enough space for these animals. And that enclosure is 16 times larger than what the AZA standards require for elephants. Now the AZA wants to send these old girls to a zoo with a 2-acre yard and five resident elephants. Wanda and Winky will have less space per elephant, and this is sure to affect their health.”

The AZA’s minimum standards for space are coming under attack by animal advocates as well as some in the zoo industry as being far too little for the world’s largest mammal on land. Says Schobert, “If you take a large-size dog and put it in a room the size of a closet for its entire life – that’s what the AZA minimum standards are like for elephants.”

There are two accredited elephant sanctuaries in the United States – PAWS in Northern Calif. and The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee. Both facilities have previously received elephants from AZA-accredited zoos. The sanctuaries offer hundreds of acres for the elephants to roam, and Wanda and Winky would be able to live within a group of Asian elephants, which is important to the psychological and emotional well being of this very social species. Surprisingly, the AZA has chosen to criticize these sanctuaries rather than work together with them to help retire needy zoo elephants who have given their entire lives to public service.

"Elephants are one of the most intelligent and social animals on earth," says Katz. "They are also one of the most loved animals by the public. If the AZA truly cares about the welfare of these elephants -- as they have stated -- then the only humane decision is to classify Wanda and Winky as surplus and let them live out their lives together and in peace at a sanctuary."

IDA’s letter to Butler is available upon request.