LOS ANGELES (Jan. 7, 2025) — Hollywood’s biggest names are speaking out for elephant freedom. Mayim Bialik, celebrated star of The Big Bang Theory and Blossom, and a neuroscience PhD, issued a powerful plea: “Aging elephants forced to live in zoos have suffered long enough. They deserve proper care and peace in their senior years — not to be on display for zoo crowds. In Defense of Animals’ 10 Worst Zoos list is alarming! I urge zoos to retire elephants to sanctuaries.”

Actor, director, screenwriter, and Psych star James Roday Rodriguez added his voice: “Keeping elephants in zoos is killing them prematurely. Confining enormous wild animals in exhibits thousands of times smaller than their natural range causes debilitating physical and mental harm and is literally deadly. Aging elephants deserve dignity and freedom, not a death sentence — I stand with In Defense of Animals and call on zoos to retire elephants to sanctuaries.”

They join Hollywood powerhouses Bill Maher, Sarah Silverman, Jorja Fox, Harley Quinn Smith, Ricky Gervais, and Moby, who all support In Defense of Animals’ mission to end captivity for all elephants in zoos.

For the second consecutive year and ninth time overall, the Los Angeles Zoo has been named #1 worst on In Defense of Animals’ renowned annual list of the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants in North America. Now in its 20th year, the 2024 list highlights how zoos are failing to send aging elephants like Billy and Tina to sanctuary, subjecting them to premature decline in captivity.

Discover the 10 Worst Zoos list: www.idausa.org/2024worstzoolist

The tide is turning for elephants, and 41 zoos have closed or pledged to close their exhibits. The Oakland Zoo has been honored with In Defense of Animals’ first-ever Path to Progress Award for retiring its lone African elephant, Osh, to a sanctuary.

In the wild, elephants thrive into their 60s, raising calves well into their 50s and roaming up to 30 miles daily. In zoos, elephants’ lives are cut short by decades. According to Bob Jacobs, Professor of Neuroscience at Colorado College, prolonged stress and chronic health issues accelerate elephant aging and their demise in zoos.

At Los Angeles Zoo, Billy and Tina endure health conditions brought on by cramped spaces and deprivation of natural behaviors. Electric wires wrap trees and fences, blocking access to plants and forcing Billy to endure shocks while foraging for vegetation outside his barren yard.

“We are delighted that Mayim Bialik and James Roday Rodriguez have joined the long list of celebrities supporting our call to free elephants from zoos,” said Marilyn Kroplick, M.D., President of In Defense of Animals. “Zoos drain the life out of elephants and deny them a comfortable sanctuary retirement. It’s time to stop aging out elephants in zoo misery and instead start moving out older animals to real sanctuaries where they can finally enjoy some peace and freedom before it’s too late.”

2024 List of the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants:

1. Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens, Calif.
2. Bronx Zoo, N.Y.
3. Edmonton Valley Zoo, Canada
4. Cameron Park Zoo, Waco, Texas
5. Two Tails Ranch, Williston, Fla. 
6. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs, Colo. 
7. Topeka Zoo & Conservation Center, Kan.
8. Little Rock Zoo, Ark.
9. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Ohio
10. Phoenix Zoo, Ariz.
     

Path to Progress Award: Oakland Zoo, Calif.

Members of the public are urged to share the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants list and demand urgent sanctuary retirement for aging elephants.

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Contacts:

Fleur Dawes, media@idausa.org, 415-879-6879
Courtney Scott, courtney@idausa.org, 503-288-6142

Photos and video (free to use with credit per filename): https://bit.ly/10WorstZoos24

See the full 10 Worst Zoos list: www.idausa.org/2024worstzoolist

Watch the 10 Worst Zoos video: https://youtu.be/rzt8ZNsSIeE

The 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants in North America list was first published in 2004, and for the past 20 years, In Defense of Animals has shone a spotlight on zoos that condemn elephants to lifetimes of deprivation, disease, and early death. Over the years, the 10 Worst Zoos list has been featured by hundreds of media outlets, including the Daily Mail, Esquire, and the New York Times and it has garnered the support of celebrities like Bill Maher, Sarah Silverman, Jorja Fox, Moby, Harley Quinn Smith, and Ricky Gervais. Learn how the list is determined and explore two decades of rankings at www.idausa.org/10worstzoos.

In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization with over 250,000 supporters and a history of fighting for animals, people, and the environment through education and campaigns, as well as hands-on rescue facilities in California, India, South Korea, and rural Mississippi since 1983. www.idausa.org/elephants

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