Alaska Zoo Poised to Hand Over Maggie to Animal Exploiter

Organization Blasts Zoo’s Pending Final Betrayal of Long-Suffering Elephant

San Rafael, California—Upon learning that Alaska Zoo, after years of ignoring expert advice by refusing to relocate its African elephant, is poised to hand Maggie over to a known animal exploiter, international animal protection organization In Defense of Animals (IDA) is blasting the Zoo’s decision as “tragic and irresponsible.” The organization contends that forcing Maggie to endure another life-threatening winter of intense confinement, then turning her over to a facility that disciplines using physical punishment, are the Zoo’s final betrayals.

Reports out of Alaska indicate that Charlie Sammut, a commercial exotic animal trainer for TV and film, has traveled to Alaska Zoo to see Maggie. This is consistent with reports in the media that, of the two primary facilities being considered for Maggie, one is located on the West Coast and its representative visited Maggie last month.

“It’s the ultimate betrayal,” said IDA president Elliot M. Katz, DVM. “Maggie has suffered incredibly at Alaska Zoo, and instead of sending her to a true sanctuary where she can live out her life in peace and comfort, the board appears ready to hand her over to a facility where she will be exploited commercially and subjected to physical discipline and the constant threat of punishment.”

In addition to his commercial animal business, Sammut runs a pseudo-sanctuary, Elephants of Africa Rescue Society (EARS) in Salinas, Calif. Problems with this facility include:

  • A training system that utilizes negative reinforcement (pain and discomfort) and physical punishment to control elephants. Trainers employ a bullhook, a steel rod with a metal tip and hook at the end, to poke, prod, and stab elephants into compliance. No true sanctuary uses this form of elephant management, and more than half of U.S. zoos have rejected it as well.

  • Isolation of “difficult to handle” elephants in a separate yard area. Since Maggie has been trained only with positive reinforcement and without the threat of physical punishment, she will likely not readily adapt to the training style employed at EARS and could be isolated.

  • Lack of financial resources that may have led the facility to seek loans to cover operating expenses after one elephant’s illness depleted its resources. The elephant subsequently died.

  • The exploitive use of “sanctuary” elephants in Sammut’s commercial ventures, including a bed and breakfast, animal training courses, and a full contact visitor experience with an elephant.

By contrast, the PAWS Sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif. has a proven track record and has received elephants from three major Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited zoos in the last three years. PAWS, which has offered to take Maggie free of charge to the Alaska Zoo, provides a stable, permanent home for elephants on 75 acres of grassy, rolling hills, giving them the space and natural conditions that earth’s largest land mammals require.

A comparison of the two facilities is available on IDA’s website at http://www.helpelephants.com/alaska_support1.html.