MEDIA RELEASE: NYC Bar Association Endorses Elephant Protection Bill
NEW YORK (Aug. 16, 2024) — In Defense of Animals is celebrating a significant endorsement from the New York City Bar Association of a bill that would end elephant confinement in New York City.
“We have been campaigning to free Happy and Patty for years and are delighted that the New York City Bar Association is boosting a bill to protect them,” said Marilyn Kroplick, President of In Defense of Animals. “Elephants don’t belong in New York City, the climate and available space is completely wrong, and the elephants are suffering as a result. New York City should follow the great example set by the San Francisco Bay Area’s Oakland Zoo, which is sending its last elephant to sanctuary because it recognizes zoos can’t meet elephants’ needs for space and companionship. The Bronx Zoo has already pledged that Happy and Patty will be its last elephants — we urge lawmakers to urgently pass this bill and give New York City’s depressed elephant pair a life worth living.”
The Bronx Zoo is the last zoo in the city with elephants. The City Bar’s Animal Law Committee notes in its report supporting the bill that “elephants’ natural environment vastly differs from captivity, and that the limitations and conditions of captivity damage the physical and behavioral health of elephants in zoos and cause chronic stress that results in neurological/brain damage to the elephants.”
Happy and Patty separated from each other at the Bronx Zoo. Photo: Nonhuman Rights Project
Further concerns have also recently been raised about Happy’s wellbeing, as she has not been seen outdoors in weeks, which has raised questions about whether she’s unable to go out, or is being prevented from doing so.
Because the Bronx Zoo has repeatedly proven it can't offer what elephants need, In Defense of Animals has placed it a record-breaking eight times on its annual list of the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants, most recently in 2021.
Many of the other reasons the Bronx Zoo has been ranked worst so many times are the same stated in the proposed bill, Int. No. 0213-2024, sponsored by New York Council Member Shahana Hanif.
The City Bar also noted in a statement the bill “...follows the groundbreaking city ordinance passed in 2023 in Ojai, California, which added protections and established rights to bodily liberty for elephants held in captivity, stemming from the findings of animal researchers who have found elephants to be similarly situated to humans, as they have long-term memories, learning abilities, empathy, and self-awareness.”
Happy was the first elephant to pass the mirror self-recognition test, proving just how aware she is of her own anguish.
To continue keeping elephants, the zoo would have to adhere to some strict new rules, such as providing a minimum 15-acres per elephant, which is a standard no zoo currently meets, nor is likely to in the future. In Defense of Animals highlights how elephants in zoos are severely restricted to less than 1% of their natural range.
Among other stipulations, it also requires elephants have “continuous access to topographic features and stimuli necessary for emotional and physical wellbeing” and “the elephant must be able to forage for food and water throughout the habitat.” Neither of those is possible in zoos as they exist today.
To give this bill some teeth, it provides for civil penalties of $1,000 per day.
“This is a stunning and groundbreaking endorsement that could have consequences for zoos in all cities and states,” said Courtney Scott, Elephant Consultant for In Defense of Animals. “We congratulate the New York City Bar Association for this forward-thinking and humane decision and Councilor Hanif for proposing it. Happy and Patty have endured decades of confinement and isolation in a miniscule exhibit at the Bronx Zoo. It is time for these two long-suffering elephants to enjoy retirement in a warm and welcoming sanctuary and finally put an end to elephant confinement in all New York City zoos. New York City must lead the way to a bright new future for all captive elephants.”
To date, 37 U.S. zoos have closed their exhibits and another four have pledged to do the same.
Last year, New York resident In Defense of Animals supporters emailed 1,053 letters to New York City Council, urging them to pass an earlier version of the bill, Int. No. 963.
14,894 In Defense of Animals supporters have emailed Jim Breheny, Director of the Bronx Zoo, urging him to send Happy and Patty to a sanctuary.
“Join us in demanding an end to the suffering of Happy and Patty. Every voice counts,” added Scott.
Sign here: https://www.idausa.org/campaign/elephants/latest-news/free-elephants-happy-patty-bronx-zoo
### NOTES ###
Contact: Courtney Scott, courtney@idausa.org, (5032) 288-6142
New York City Bar Association press release
Experts agree, zoos do more harm than good: https://www.idausa.org/experts-agree-zoos-harm-good/
In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization based in California with over 250,000 supporters and a 41-year history of fighting for animals, people, and the environment through education and campaigns as well as hands-on rescue facilities in India, South Korea, rural Mississippi, and central California. www.idausa.org/elephants
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