IDA Blasts Abilene Zoo for Dumping Elephant in Waco

Organization Calls for Permanent Closure of Abilene Elephant Exhibit

Abilene, Tex.—International animal protection organization In Defense of Animals (IDA) today called for the permanent closure of the Abilene Zoo elephant exhibit as the Zoo’s sole surviving pachyderm, Tanya, is shipped off to Cameron Park Zoo in Waco.

“At 13 acres for the entire zoo, Abilene does not have the space or conditions necessary for elephants to thrive,” said Elliot M. Katz, DVM, IDA President. “Like many other zoos, Abilene’s track record with elephants is filled with physical and psychological suffering caused by inadequate zoo conditions.”

For nearly two decades, Tanya and a second African elephant named Tanzy were confined in Abilene to a woefully inadequate exhibit, with a tiny outdoor yard and indoor concrete-floored stalls, each about the size of two parking lot spaces. By contrast, wild elephants walk 10 or more miles a day.

Tanzy died this summer at age 49, crippled by arthritis and subsisting on a daily cocktail of painkillers and the anti-anxiety drug Xanex. Arthritis and foot disease are the leading killers of captive elephants and are a direct result of intense confinement, lack of exercise, and standing on concrete.

Lack of space also caused constant aggression between Tanzy and Tanya. The two elephants would fight through the bars of their cages when locked inside, and were rarely given access to the yard at the same time. Tanya’s tantrums, door-rammings, feces-throwing, and fights with Tanzy are well documented in Zoo medical records.

Aggression in free-ranging female elephants is rare, but it is all too common in zoos where space is deficient and stress levels are high. Cameron Park Zoo, where Tanya is being sent, has also had problems with elephant aggression.

IDA urged Abilene to join the dozen U.S. zoos, including those in major cities like Detroit, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and New York, who have closed or plan to close their elephant exhibits.

“Considering the Abilene Zoo’s terrible history of elephant suffering and lack of space and resources necessary to provide for earth’s largest land mammal, it’s not right to ever keep elephants there,” concluded Katz. “The Abilene Zoo elephant exhibit must be permanently closed.”

Medical records for both zoos, obtained through Texas public records law, are posted on IDA’s website at www.helpelephants.com/records. IDA is an international animal rescue and advocacy organization based in San Rafael, Calif.