LOS ANGELES (Jan. 7, 2025) — Zoos across North America are aging elephants into early graves and denying them timely retirement. For the second consecutive year and ninth time overall, the Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens 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 retire aging elephants like Billy and Tina, subjecting them to premature decline in captivity. 

For the first time, In Defense of Animals is honoring a zoo with its new Path to Progress Award. Forty-one zoos have closed or pledged to close their exhibits. By retiring its lone African elephant, Osh, Oakland Zoo has offered a blueprint for compassionate care that other zoos must follow. Actors Mayim Bialik and James Roday Rodriguez are among the celebrities calling for all zoos to follow this humane example and retire elephants to true sanctuaries.

Discover the list: www.idausa.org/2024worstzoolist

“Premature aging and death are the unavoidable consequences of keeping elephants in captivity,” said Courtney Scott, Elephant Consultant for In Defense of Animals. “We are heartened by the progress of 41 zoos that have closed or pledged to close their exhibits and delighted to present our first-ever Path to Progress Award. However, time is running out fast for elephants like Billy and Tina. We demand that all zoos urgently follow Oakland Zoo’s path to progress by granting early sanctuary retirement to all their suffering elephants before it’s too late.”

In the wild, elephants thrive into their 60s, raising calves well into their 50s and roaming up to 30 miles daily. In zoos like Los Angeles Zoo, where enclosures are thousands of times smaller than their natural range, elephants are dying decades prematurely.

According to Bob Jacobs, Professor of Neuroscience at Colorado College, “It’s likely that zoos contribute to premature aging of elephants through the cumulative effects of prolonged stress (with its neural consequences) and acceleration of health issues like foot and digestive problems.”

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 fencing, blocking access to plants. Driven by instinct to fulfill his foraging needs, Billy endures shocks to nibble on vegetation surrounding his barren yard.

This year’s 10 Worst Zoos list is dedicated to Tonka, who spent 43 years confined at Zoo Knoxville. Though he was finally slated for sanctuary retirement, Tonka was tragically euthanized just weeks before his transfer due to chronic pain.

“Zoos drain the life out of elephants, then deny them a comfortable sanctuary retirement,” said Marilyn Kroplick, M.D., President of In Defense of Animals. “We are glad that some zoos are retiring elephants to sanctuary, but because of the risk of elephants dying before they reach freedom, zoos must act urgently. Tonka’s premature death and missed freedom is a grim warning for Los Angeles Zoo and all others on the 10 Worst Zoos list. It’s time for zoos to stop aging out elephants in misery and instead start moving out older animals to real sanctuaries where they can finally enjoy some peace and freedom before they die.”

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 support the movement to retire aging elephants by sharing the 10 Worst Zoos list and demanding that zoos with elephants prioritize compassion over captivity.

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Contacts: 

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

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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