Archive for the ‘Elephants’ Category

San Rafael, Calif. – In Defense of Animals (IDA) today sent a letter to Central Florida Zoo CEO Joe Montisano, urging him to retire the zoo’s sole Asian elephant Maude to a spacious, natural habitat sanctuary. The call follows the death of Mary this week at age 63. In the past the zoo has indicated that when one of the elephants died, it would consider ... Full story

New survey shows scores of elephants spend winters warehoused in cruel conditions FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE San Rafael, Calif. (February 2, 2010) - When Punxsutawney Phil crawls out of his burrow, what he finds may determine whether elephants living in cold-climate zoos will suffer another six weeks of miserable confinement. Zoo watchdog organization In Defense of Animals (IDA) today released an unprecedented survey showing that scores of elephants ... Full story

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE St. Lucie County, Fla. (January 26, 2010) - In a major victory for elephants, the St. Lucie County Board of Commissioners in Florida made it very clear that the use of cruel bullhooks on elephants is not welcome in their county. The commission today voted to allow the National Elephant Center (NEC), an elephant holding facility and breeding facility, to proceed, but applied ... Full story

MEDIA ADVISORY Press Conference Monday Ft. Pierce, Florida (January 25, 2010) - Representatives of national, state and local animal protection organizations will release information documenting serious concerns about the treatment of elephants at the proposed National Elephant Center (NEC) in St. Lucie County, including graphic photos and video that illustrate the circus-style elephant training and cruel devices that will be utilized at the facility. When: Monday, ... Full story

San Rafael, Calif. - In Defense of Animals (IDA), joined by a top authority on elephant behavior and biology, today strongly criticized the St. Louis Zoo for recklessly breeding elephants. The charge follows an announcement by the zoo that the elephant Rani is again pregnant, despite serious complications following the last two births at the zoo and the threat posed by a deadly elephant virus. In ... Full story

San Rafael, Calif. (January 12, 2010) – The 2009 list of the Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants, released today by In Defense of Animals (IDA), exposes the hidden suffering of elephants in zoos. In its sixth year, the list highlights how confinement of these giants to tiny enclosures wreaks havoc on their physical and psychological health and leads to premature death for many. For the ... Full story

Kiba among youngest to die from degenerative joint disorder San Rafael, Calif. (December 21, 2009) - In Defense of Animals (IDA), an international zoo watchdog organization, says the unusual death of 26-year-old Kiba, an African elephant at the Nashville Zoo, provides yet another tragic example of why elephants should not be held in zoos. Kiba is the only elephant in the last ten years to die ... Full story

San Rafael, Calif. (December 2, 2009) - The fourth elephant death in less than four years - and the third since September 2008 - has placed the Toronto Zoo at the forefront of a zoo industry plagued by elephant tragedies and premature deaths, the international zoo watchdog group In Defense of Animals (IDA) said today. IDA is calling on the City of Toronto to close ... Full story

In October 2008, ten elephants in Zimbabwe were brutally caught, beaten and chained for training for elephant-back safaris. Six months later, on a routine inspection of the “training facility” where they were being held, the Zimbabwe National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ZNSPCA) observed a litany of abuse: •    Elephants chained by one leg straining to reach food - the chains inflicted deep and ... Full story

San Rafael, Calif. (November 12, 2009) . . . In Defense of Animals (IDA) today hailed the recent ruling by India's Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to completely ban the keeping of elephants in zoos, circuses and private collections throughout the country and ordering of the release of 140 such elephants, who will be “rehabilitated” to live in semi-free ranging conditions in forest camps and facilities ... Full story