SF Supervisors To Zoo: Send Elephants To Calif. Sanctuary Now Resolution Passes Unanimously
Despite Pressure, Zoo Stalls on Designating Destination for Elephants

San Francisco, CA The San Francisco Board of Supervisors today unanimously passed a resolution calling for the last two surviving elephants at the San Francisco Zoo to be transferred as soon as possible to an elephant sanctuary in California. The resolution states: "RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco urges the San Francisco Zoological Society to transfer ownership of and relocate elephants Lulu and Tinkerbelle to the Performing Animal Welfare Society [PAWS] sanctuary and to immediately bring in representatives of the sanctuary to the zoo to begin the transfer process. "

The resolution highlights the PAWS sanctuary, where elephant habitats far exceed federal and zoo industry standards and personnel have extensive experience treating elephants debilitated from years in captivity under severely inadequate conditions.

Despite political pressure, the zoo continues to drag its feet on transferring the elephants, declining, to date, to commit to send them to PAWS as directed by the Supervisors. Zoo officials now claim that it will take up to two weeks to choose a destination and more time to prepare the elephants for the move.

Animal protection advocates, while claiming victory with the vote, plan to keep the pressure on the zoo until concrete steps are taken to move the elephants to PAWS.

"We commend the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for its leadership and humanitarianism in demanding the transfer of the long-suffering elephants from the zoo to a more appropriate environment," said Elliot M. Katz, DVM, president of In Defense of Animals. "It's now time for the zoo to stop stalling and start acting to transfer Tinkerbelle and Lulu to the PAWS sanctuary. Continuing to confine these obviously ailing elephants in their tiny zoo lots is not only inhumane, it is also an ongoing embarrassment to the City of San Francisco."

IDA is calling for the zoo to immediately bring in professionals from PAWS to begin the transfer process.

Over 1,500 Zoo patrons have signed a petition endorsing the prompt transfer of the City-"owned" elephants to the sanctuary. The Zoo has been under fire since the death of two elephants in less than two months at the zoo. Calle, an Asian elephant, was euthanized on March 7. Maybelle, an African elephant, was found collapsed in the zoo yard on April 22. She died a few hours later.

The elephants at the SF Zoo have for years suffered from degenerative health conditions caused by the inadequate Zoo environment. In the wild, elephants travel tens of miles a day and live 60-70 years. At the SF Zoo, elephants are held in lots of less than 1 acre with cold, damp and foggy weather. The Zoo has a history of elephants dying prematurely: Calle died at 37; Maybelle died at 43, and in 1999, Penny died at the age of 41. A 1999/2000 city performance audit characterized conditions for elephants at the San Francisco Zoo as "especially poor."

For more information about captive elephants, please visit: www.safesfzooelephants.com
or
IDA Elephants campaign page