Animal Activists Descend on San Antonio Zoo to Demand a “Lucky” Break for Lone Elephant This Holiday

IDA and Voice for Animals Call on Zoo to Send Surviving Elephant to Sanctuary

San Antonio, Texas—In the wake of the death of Alport, the 49-year-old African elephant who died at the San Antonio Zoo in November after reportedly suffering an “orthopedic tear” in her leg, members of In Defense of Animals (IDA) and Voice for Animals will gather at the Zoo to make a holiday appeal for Lucky’s release to an elephant sanctuary.

What: Activists, joined by a giant “elephant” will unfurl an oversized banner that reads, “Free Lucky,” and hold posters that read, “Send Lucky to a Sanctuary.
When: Saturday, December 22, 2007, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Where: Directly across the street from the San Antonio Zoo ticket office. San Antonio Zoo, 3903 N. St. Mary’s St.

“With Alport’s death, Lucky is now alone, and this is exceptionally cruel for female elephants, who are intensely social animals,” said IDA president Elliot M. Katz, DVM. “The San Antonio Zoo should do what’s in Lucky’s best interest and immediately transfer her to a sanctuary.”

The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, which provides 2100 acres of natural habitat for Asian elephants, has offered to transport and house Lucky for the rest of her life--at no cost to the Zoo. Should Lucky remain where she is, it could be months or even years before a companion is located and transferred to the Zoo’s small and inadequate elephant exhibit.

At age 47, Lucky may not have many years left to live. Though elephants have a natural lifespan of 60-70 years, Alport died at age 49. In 2004 the Zoo euthanized Ginny, who was also 49; she had suffered from severe arthritis and infectious foot ailments for several years, caused by lack of exercise space and the concrete and hard-packed soil surfaces that are found at the San Antonio Zoo. An IDA report found that 60 percent of all elephants in zoos suffer from foot disease and nearly half have arthritis.

IDA and Voice for Animals are urging the San Antonio Zoo to follow the lead of the 13 U.S. zoos, including Detroit, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and New York, which have closed or plan to close their elephant exhibits.

“The San Antonio Zoo simply does not have the space to house elephants, earth’s largest land mammals, who in the wild walk ten or more miles a day and live in large, tightly-knit family groups,” said Katz. “The Zoo should allow Lucky to be sent to The Elephant Sanctuary and close its elephant exhibit now.”

For more information, please visit www.HelpElephants.com. To download a video about The Elephant Sanctuary, visit www.elephants.com/mediaCenter.php.