Toronto elephants going to sanctuary

Toronto elephant move to PAWS targeted for spring

Published on Tuesday December 18, 2012

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Elephant at Toronto Zoo

TORONTO STAR STAFF/RENE JOHNSTON The Toronto Zoo is now working toward sending its aging trio of female African elephants to PAWS, a California sanctuary that zoo veterinarians have harboured doubts about.

Donovan Vincent
Staff Reporter

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It remains a tough pill for some to swallow, but the Toronto Zoo is now working toward a spring target to get its three remaining elephants on a plane to PAWS.
Tension was apparent Tuesday morning at the meeting of the zoo’s board of management, its first since city council voted 32-8 last month to send the zoo’s aging female African elephants to the California sanctuary.
That vote reaffirmed a decision council made on the elephants last year. But by doing so, councillors once again rejected the advice of trained zoo staff.
Prior to the latest vote, the zoo’s CEO and senior veterinarians had urged city councillors to cancel PAWS (the Performing Animal Welfare Society) as the pachyderms’ destination. The zoo wanted them sent to an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) facility in Florida, which isn’t built yet.
Several zoo staff attended Tuesday’s board meeting, dejection etched on their faces. There were heated exchanges during the meeting. Councillor Glenn DeBaeremaeker, who voted in favour of the move to PAWS, harshly admonished one senior zoo employee for “heckling’’ during the meeting.
There were also tense exchanges between board members DeBaeremaeker and Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby, who voted against the move to PAWS.
Last month’s council resolution ordered that Toka, Thika and Iringa go to PAWS on or before Dec. 31, 2012 — or as soon as possible. Zoo CEO John Tracogna said that date wasn’t feasible.
“We’re looking at a spring date. That seems to be the next target,’’ he told the meeting. Afterward, Tracogna reiterated that the zoo is abiding by council’s wish and working to get the transfer finished.
The meeting heard that a U.S-based company called Active Environments will be working with the zoo and PAWS to move the animals.
Julie Woodyer, a director with Zoocheck Canada, the animal rights group representing PAWS, said that as far as she knows, former “The Price is Right” game show host Bob Barker is still paying for the relocation.
Barker has pledged about $800,000 for the transfer, much of which will probably go toward renting a cargo plane. Woodyer said her group will soon make an announcement about a plane.

Why Are Baby Elephants Being Sold to Entertainment Companies?

by Alicia Graef

December 6, 2012, 11:30 am

Last week Rose-tu, an Asian elephant at the Oregon Zoo, made headlines for giving birth to a healthy 300 pound baby girl who is now the center of a campaign to find her a name and a controversy over her future.

“The outpouring support for the zoo and its newest resident has been incredible,” said Kim Smith, zoo director. “Rose-Tu and her calf are doing well. They’re bonding and comfortable with each other. Now it’s time to give the calf a name that suits her.”

What the zoo failed to tell everyone was that they don’t own this little one. According to the Seattle Times, the newborn is property of Have Trunk Will Travel, a private company that “rents out pachyderms to the entertainment industry, stages circus like events and offers elephant rides at $500 an hour.”

It’s part of a deal the zoo struck with company in 2005 to give them Rose-Tu’s second, fourth and sixth calves. The zoo initially denied any such deal until confronted by the Times with a copy of the contract, then they were all, “oh, that contract” and issued a statement:

The contract is valid. As per the agreement, official designation of ownership takes effect after the calf has lived 30 days. Once that happens, the Oregon Zoo will be in discussion with Have Trunk Will Travel regarding ownership, and it is the zoo’s intent to retain Rose-Tu’s calf.

On Tuesday, Oregon Zoo director Kim Smith called a press conference to deal with the controversy generated by the Seattle Times, reports King 5.

“They can’t come here and take an animal,” she said. “The zoo and Have Trunk have a positive relationship and the company also wants to have the calf remain at the zoo.”

Even if the zoo wants to keep her, they already signed away their rights. If Have Trunk Will Travel wants to take her, they can.

If Have Trunk Will Travel sounds familiar, that’s because it’s the same company that came under fire last year for abusing elephants during the filming of the movie Water for Elephants. The company denied allegations, but indisputable mistreatment was caught on video.

The company also has a history of using chains and bullhooks and has faced criticism for allowing unrestricted contact with elephants at fairs and zoos. Yet, for some reason, the company is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), which means they are free to breed elephants and trade them with zoos.

Meanwhile the AZA is free to mix ‘n match elephants with little regard for bonds forged and broken or what’s in their actual best interest, while pawning surplus animals off on the entertainment industry.
If Rose-tu were living in the wild, she and her calf would remain together for life.

Unfortunately, captive breeding and selling/trading wild animals is a common practice that affects the lives of thousands of creatures every year. The Oregon Zoo cited the Species Survival Plan (SSP) and an interest in having a multigenerational herd as the reason for entering into a contract with Have Trunk Will Travel and claims that their “work towards preserving the species is vital.”

“The hypocrisy of breeding animals in captivity who will be doomed to live in unnatural enclosures in the name of conservation and science is a practice which should be eliminated by the AZA and replaced with truthful information about captivity and the compelling need to protect wild species and habitat,” wrote Pat Derby, Director and Founder of Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in a letter criticizing the AZA.

SSP programs result in “surplus” animals who are used to make genetic contributions to a captive population and are no longer needed afterwards. When zoos no longer need, or want to keep animals for whatever reason, they may sell them to dealers, circuses, traveling shows and even canned hunting facilities.
If zoos actually cared about elephants they would contribute to real conservation efforts instead of wasting fortunes on breeding programs and enclosures that will never be adequate for an animal that should be roaming miles every day with the ability to explore landscapes and choose their own companions. It does not serve elephants, or any species, to breed them with no plan for reintroduction into the wild or any plan to care for those used for the remainder of their lives.

Zoos themselves aren’t much safer when it comes to the well-being of elephants with captivity resulting in a host of problems that are not seen in the wild from foot problems and arthritis to fertility issues, behavioral abnormalities and aggression.

The Oregon Zoo itself has a history of failure when it comes to elephant care. Rose-tu was born there and has suffered abuse at the hands of her handlers who left bullhook wounds all over her body and emotional scars that left her unable to even tolerate being examined.

An exam in 2000 found “multiple puncture wounds on her head, behind her ears, on both shoulders and on both rear limbs. There were also two puncture wounds in the soft skin between the anus and the base of the tail. Rose also had a 15-inch long laceration over the top left gluteal area. She became agitated during the exam, especially when her tail area was examined, and further lesions could not be identified,” according to In Defense of Animals.

The abuse was so bad the USDA actually filed charges against the zoo for violating the Animal Welfare Act. Sadly, Rose-tu wasn’t the only one being abused.

Fortunately, the plight of captive elephants is gaining traction as more people learn about their physical, social and emotional needs. In recent years, many progressive facilities have phased out their elephant exhibits, while others are in the process of doing so.

A federal judge recently declared that Los Angeles zoo officials were delusional to believe their elephants are happy. Los Angeles is now working on banning elephants in circuses, while the three who have been waiting in Toronto to go to PAWS in California are finally expected to be moved from their inappropriately chilly home by the end of the year, with the help of large contribution from Bob Barker.

If you want to help elephants and other exotic animals in captivity please support state and federal legislation banning their use in traveling shows, circuses and auctions or as pets, avoid drive-through animal parks and roadside zoos or any zoos or facilities where they’re exploited or sold for a profit.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/sad-future-in-entertainment-for-one-baby-elephant.html#ixzz2Ei7UL49a

City Council votes to support Brendan's decision to not allow Tembo and Sunda to retire to the sanctuary

Tembo and Sunda Update

OK everyone—the sad news is that the Topeka City Council voted unanimously on October 23, 2012,  to support the Zoo’s decision to keep Tembo & Sunda in the same inadequate enclosure until they die.  

City Manager Colson started out by saying they had received 9,000 emails.  He said  ”We’ve been  pushing back against these groups.  If we believed that there was a better place, we would have recommended it.  We do not have an elephant crisis.  Through the process we have identified improvements we can make".  (Perhaps we can take comfort in the massive support we got from around the world  and that maybe these “improvements” would not have happened if we hadn’t pushed.) 

Sadly, those who spoke in favor of keeping Tembo and Sunda at the zoo clearly did not understand the core issue, i.e., human beings do not have the right to keep elephants behind bars for their entire lives simply for human entertainment.  The fact that Tembo and Sunda were stolen from their families in Africa and Asia as babies makes it all the more shameful that freedom has been denied to them in their final few years.  Add to that the strong likelihood that their mothers and aunts were gunned down in order to capture them, and elephants don't forget such things.  In fact, it has been documented that elephants can suffer from PTSD just like humans. 

Brendan Wiley, the Zoo's Director, said adding one or two elephants, so that if one dies the other will not be alone, is expensive and not sustainable.  Regarding an expansion, he said he would like to have a “true elephant conservation breeding and education facility”, but that he couldn’t discuss this because it would depend on so many unknown factors.  He said they consulted 15 professionals (all zoo industry people mind you) and they all agreed Tembo & Sunda should stay at the Topeka Zoo due to familiarity, age and good health.  They also recommended to “leave them here, but do it better".  He said they will become better elephant managers, use the existing space and turn it into something better.  "We have a new philosophy, i.e, respect the natural tendencies of elephants and meet their needs 24 hours a day.  It is the “habitat concept” i.e., stimulate behavior while they are awake and a comfy place to sleep.  We want to “allow elephants to be elephants all day long.”  He said working from this philosophy would “create a foundation from which to determine the future.”

The interesting thing about the language being used is that it appears there is a growing awareness that elephants need more than just a barren cage.  It is our job as activists to keep this consciousness growing among the public until we reach the tipping point where it is finally realized that zoos cannot "allow elephants to be elephants" so long as they are housed in inadequate environments such as zoos and circuses. That is not because the keepers and administrators do not care.  Some do.  No, it is because: (1) Zoos simply aren't large enough to provide what elephants need, and if they did, people would not be able to see them.  They would be too far away, keeping their distance from the noisy crowds, and (2) Because the very word "allow" implies that we have the right to dominate and control these majestic animals and deprive them of their freedom.  And in truth, we do not have that right.

Thanks to PAWS and The Elephant Sanctuary, there are now two elephant sanctuaries in the U.S. where retired elephants, if they're lucky enough to be retired from zoos & circuses, can have some semblance of the freedom and dignity they once knew.  Without these sanctuaries, there would be no options for these elephants in North America except captivity and deprivation. 

It doesn't look like Tembo and Sunda will know a few years of freedom before they die as we had hoped and worked for over the last five years.  It is heart breaking and truly sad that those in power over these elephants could not see beyond their own selfish wants.  For now, we will continue to monitor their care and visit with Brendan Wiley to observe the "improvements" to their cage. 

In the meantime, our heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who took the time to write, to send emails, to make phone calls and to those who showed up at all the City Council meetings and voiced your support to retire these elderly elephants. 

Through the Eyes of an Elephant

Please attend the two public meetings that the Zoo Directer is hosting regarding the future of Tembo & Sunda

First Meeting -- Tuesday, October 9 at 6:00 p.m. at the Big Gage Shelterhouse in Gage Park

Second Meeting -- Saturday, October 13 at 2:00 p.m. in the Gary Clarke Living Classroom at the Topeka Zoo

Please contact City Officials and the Zoo Director

and let them know you want Tembo & Sunda retired to The Elephant Sanctuary.

New Topeka City Manager, Jim Colson:
jcolson@topeka.org
785-368-3725

Topeka City Council Members:
council@topeka.org
785-368-3710

Zoo Director, Brendan Wiley:
bwiley@topeka.org
785-368-9180

Topeka Library meeting re: The Elephant Sanctuary Q&A

Join AOK for our second public meeting on Thursday, July 26th at 7:00 p.m. at the Topeka Library where we will show an informational video on The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, TN, discuss the situation with Sunda's foot disease and the recent complaint that was filed on her behalf to the USDA, and answer any questions you may have regarding retiring Tembo & Sunda from the Topeka Zoo to this Sanctuary.   

Topekans, the Topeka City Council members, the Zoo Director and City Manager need to hear from you!  Please e-mail them at the e-mail addresses below, and let them know as a citizen of Topeka, you want the best for Tembo & Sunda which is to take them off display at the Topeka Zoo and retire them to The Elephant Sanctuary.  These elephants need your voices.

Thank you. 

This email will go to all City Council members:   council@topeka.org
This email will go to Dan Stanley, City Manager:   dstanley@topeka.org
This email will go to Brendan Wiley, Director of the Zoo:  bwiley@topeka.org

Other ways to contact them:  To write or call any or all city council members this page has their home addresses, emails, and phone numbers.  It is their job to respond to the concerns of their constituents.  Remember, the city owns the zoo.  The council can make this honorable decision to send Tembo and Sunda to The Elephant Sanctuary.  

Even if you are not from Topeka, please contact these council members and voice your concerns as potential tourists and visitors to Topeka.