Latest News

Ask Hogle Zoo to Send Its Elephants to Sanctuary, Not Another Zoo!

Utah's Hogle Zoo should send its elephants Christie and Zuri to sanctuary, not another zoo and permanently close its elephant exhibit.

10 Worst Zoos, elephants, Hogle Zoo, Utah

Zoos Don’t Conserve Wild Animals, They Consume Them

Zoos don’t conserve wildlife, elephants, and endangered species. Find out how zoos are exploiting and consuming wild animals. This is the conservation con.

captivity, elephants, entertainment, Wild Animals, zoos

MEDIA RELEASE: World Circus Day: Watch Rare Circus Elephant Keeper Interview

For World Circus Day 2023, In Defense of Animals has released a rare interview with an ex-circus elephant keeper Max Brandrett who worked at Chipperfield’s Circus…

circus, elephants

WATCH: Former Elephant Keeper Reveals Shocking Circus Secrets

A video interview with former Chipperfield’s Circus elephant groom Max Brandrett reveals circus animal cruelty first hand.

captive animals, circus, elephants, entertainment

UPDATE: Lonely Lucy Is Denied Her Ticket to Freedom

After the latest round of health exams, lonely elephant Lucy is once again denied her chance for freedom. She must remain in frigid northern Canada, in the Edmonton…

Keep Elephants in Africa Where They Belong

The USFWS is proposing new restrictions on importing elephants and elephant trophies. It needs to go further and place a total ban on this cruelty.

African elephants, elephants, trophy hunting, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), zoos

Free Billy the Elephant! 32 Years of Misery is Enough!

32 years at the LA Zoo is enough! It’s time to free the long-suffering lone male elephant Billy to sanctuary.

captivity, elephants

The 10 Worst Zoos List Changes Hearts and Minds

In Defense of Animals has released yet another list of zoos that have earned a spot on the 10 Worst based on various factors such as lack of space, solitary elephants,…

activism, captivity, zoos

MEDIA RELEASE: Bill Maher, Sarah Silverman & Jorja Fox Shatter Zoo Spin on Elephant Space

10 Worst Zoos for Elephants of 2022 Revealed by In Defense of Animals

10 Worst Zoos, elephants, worst zoos, zoos

UPDATE: The Betrayal of India’s Elephants

Indian Parliament betrays elephants by opening the door to wild capture of elephants for trade or transport. Elephants can now be sold for “religious or any purpose.”

elephants, India

Elephants in Circuses Deserve the Gift of Freedom

The perfect gift for the elephants at Carson & Barnes Circus is retirement to sanctuary.

circus, elephants, Sanctuary

Bamboo the Elephant’s Days of Misery Are Finally Over: Zoos Must Liberate Their Captives

Bamboo’s tragic life and death at the OK City Zoo are a clarion call to end the confinement and breeding of elephants in zoos.

Tembo the Elephant’s Heart is Breaking From Loneliness at the Cameron Park Zoo

Urge Cameron Park Zoo to send its lone African elephant Tembo to an accredited sanctuary.

10 Worst Zoos, Cameron Park Zoo, elephants, Tembo

MEDIA RELEASE: Animal Activists Welcome LA Council Recommendation To Free Billy the Elephant

In Defense of Animals has welcomed a unanimous vote by Los Angeles City Council’s Personnel, Audits and Animal Welfare Committee to send long-suffering Asian elephant,…

10 Worst Zoos, elephants, Los Angeles

African Lion Safari: Conservation Lies Don’t Hide Your Abuse

Urge African Lion Safari to send its Asian elephants to an accredited sanctuary.

10 Worst Zoos, African Lion Safari, elephants

Send Chronically Depressed Elephant Chendra to Sanctuary Now!

The lone Borne elephant Chendra continues to suffer at the Oregon Zoo. It is time for her to be retired to sanctuary.

captivity, elephants, Oregon Zoo, Sanctuary

Give Lonely Lucy the Elephant her Chance for Freedom

The Edmonton Valley Zoo in Canada must agree to a health exam by an independent, unaffiliated veterinarian to assess if Lucy is well enough to be transported to…

Canada, Edmonton Zoo, elephants, health exam, Sanctuary

Zoo Knoxville’s Elephants Are Going to a Sanctuary!

Exciting news! Zoo Knoxville plans to retire its 3 African elephants to the Elephant Sanctuary in TN. Tell the zoo to take the next step and halt any plans to bring…

African elephants, captivity, elephants, Sanctuary, zoos

50 Years of Elephant Protection in India Down the Drain?

In India, 50 years of protection for elephants is in danger of being reversed by an amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act, by allowing the commercial sale and…

captivity, elephants, India, trafficking

The Sad Status of Elephants on World Elephant Day

August 12, 2022, World Elephant Day is a call for compassion for elephants around the world who continue to be slaughtered in the wild and caged for life in captivity.

Africa, Asia, captivity, elephants, India

Pittsburgh Zoo: Holding 10 Elephants Captive is Not Conservation

Tell the Pittsburgh Zoo and International Conservation Center to stop breeding elephants and send as many as it can to accredited sanctuaries.

captivity, elephants

Lucy’s Birthday Blues, 45 Years in Captivity

Lucy’s 47th birthday on July 1st at the Edmonton Valley Zoo in Alberta, Canada is no cause for celebration. It is a reminder of her 45 years spent in the frozen…

elephants, zoos

End the Barbaric Use of Bullhooks on Elephants in Canada

Act now to help end the brutal use of bullhooks on elephants in Canada.

Canada, CAZA, elephants, Prime Minister Trudeau

Scathing New Report Calls Confinement of Elephants a Legacy of Shame

Scathing new report exposes why zoos across the US and Europe should close their elephant exhibits and end the breeding and confinement of elephants.

captive animals, captivity, elephants, Top Ten Worst Zoos, zoos

MORE NEWS