El Paso Advocates to Zoogoers: Time for Elephant Freedom
Demonstrators Demand Elephant Independence on July 4th Weekend

El Paso —  As the tension increases in El Paso regarding an upcoming city council vote on whether to send Savannah and Juno, the two elephants at El Paso Zoo, to a sanctuary, members of the local group Concerned Citizens for Savannah & Juno and IDA will greet visitors to El Paso Zoo with a van displaying giant banners reading “Savannah & Juno - Give Them Sanctuary!” as elephant advocates hand out information on the physical and psychological suffering experienced by elephants on display in zoos:

When: Saturday, July 2, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Where: El Paso Zoo, Main Entrance By the Ticket Booth

Elephants, the world’s largest land mammals, can travel tens of miles a day in the wild to maintain proper foot, joint and digestive health. Elephants in zoos spend much of their time on concrete or hard compacted dirt, leading to recurrent foot infections and arthritis. Medical records for Savannah and Juno reveal that the elephants already suffer from foot problems and Savannah likely suffers from the same captivity-induced arthritis that plagued her predecessor, Mona, who was in excruciating pain before she died in 2001. Both Juno and Savannah display neurotic swaying and rocking behaviors, indicating stress and boredom.

At next Tuesday’s regular meeting El Paso City Council will decide on whether to hold a special city council meeting on July 27 to vote on sending the elephants to The Elephant Sanctuary (TES) in Tennessee. TES is one of two accredited elephant sanctuaries in the U.S. that provide elephants with access to hundreds of acres where they can roam and relieve the painful foot infections and arthritis developed from years of standing on hard soil and concrete. After a keeper was caught viciously beating Sissy, an elephant at El Paso Zoo, on videotape, she was sent to TES in 2000, where she happily resides. 

“Elephants are freedom-loving animals who need room to roam and El Paso Zoo simply cannot provide for their most basic needs,” says Jane Poss, co-founder of Concerned Citizens for Savannah & Juno. “As the nation reflects on freedom and liberty, we hope that El Pasoans will make the compassionate decision to send these girls to a sanctuary.”

For more information, please visit SaveZooElephants.com.