In Defense Of Animals Urges Feds To Investigate Elephant Death At Southwick’s Zoo
- Friday, July 30, 2010, 8:00
- Breaking News, Elephants
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Zoo urged to publicly release Dondi’s veterinary records
San Rafael, Calif. (July 30, 2010) – In Defense of Animals (IDA) today filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), urging an investigation into the death of Dondi, an Asian elephant held at the Southwick’s Zoo in Mendon, Massachusetts. Dondi died on Wednesday, after suffering an unidentified illness.
“Dondi’s unexpected death raises a red flag because at age 36 she should have been in the prime of life,” said Catherine Doyle, IDA Elephant Campaign director. “We are asking the USDA to investigate the circumstances surrounding Dondi’s death as a matter of public interest and public safety.”
In a separate letter sent to Southwick’s Zoo president Justine Brewer, IDA urged the zoo to publicly release Dondi’s veterinary records and necropsy reports, saying, “The public has a right to know the cause of Dondi’s death.”
Dondi was in direct contact with the public at the Southwick’s Zoo, where she gave rides during the summer months; she performed circus tricks and gave rides during the winter at various locations in Florida. Elephants can harbor diseases transmissible to humans, including tuberculosis, which can be difficult to detect. Release of the records would hopefully allay any public health concerns.
IDA further appealed to the zoo to not replace Dondi with another elephant as the zoo’s tiny exhibit fails to meet elephants’ needs. “Though the zoo may have been well-intentioned, Dondi led a sad and unnatural life for an elephant,” wrote Doyle. “She was trucked across the country, confined in cramped pens, forced to perform circus tricks and give rides, and lived without the companionship of another elephant.”
Elephants are highly social animals who, in the wild, live in large family groups in which females remain with their mothers for life. Asian elephants have a natural lifespan of 60-70 years. Recent scientific studies show that elephants in zoos die decades earlier than those in relatively protected wild populations.
Intensive confinement in small zoo pens often leads to serious physical and psychological problems, including painful foot disease and arthritis that cripple elephants and lead to premature death, infertility, high stillbirth rates, and repetitive rocking and swaying, signs of psychological distress.
Copies of IDA’s letters to the USDA and the Southwick’s Zoo are available upon request. For more information, visit www.HelpElephants.com.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Catherine Doyle, 323-301-5730, zoos@idausa.org
IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS • 3010 KERNER BLVD. • SAN RAFAEL, CA 94901 • 415-448-0048
4 Comments on “In Defense Of Animals Urges Feds To Investigate Elephant Death At Southwick’s Zoo”
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These animals should be in the wild, not in a zoo or a confinded area. They are not supposed to be in captivity. All zoo’s should be stopped. Unless they can give them the room that they are supposed to have in the wild. They are very social animals and highly intelligent . They raise their families in groups and the unger ones, the teenagers, take care of the babies when the mother is feeding or busy doing what adult elephants do. They morn their deaths. That shows intellegents. We are not talking about cows or chickens. But they have their rights too!
Thank you for investigating Dondi’s situation. I visited Southwick’s Zoo this past June and was horrified by the elephant show that this beautiful creature was forced to perform. Sadly, I was not surprised to hear of Dondi’s passing. In my opinion, Dondi looked miserable and broken-spirited a month ago. I am relieved that she will no longer live such a tormented life, and I am truly grateful that there are people like you who care enough to end the mistreatment of elephants. Bravo for the work you do! Keep it up!
Dondi was the elephant who opened my eyes to the plight of elephants living in captivity and exploited by humans for entertainment. The first time I saw Dondi was in 2006 at Flea World in Sanford, FL. I reacted. I cried when I saw her in her tiny little ring, performing circus tricks on command. It was a terrible sight to know that this was the only life this poor, solitary elephant knew. After I dried my tears, I went in for a closer look. To my disgust I watched her owner Phil, and his son, Joshua, rig her gear so she could give rides in her tiny little circular prison. It was when I caught a look at the bullhook that I knew this was a huge problem! And phil used it too! No, he did not beat her senslessly in front of the audience, but he gave her a couple of good whacks behind the legs when she slowed down. She talked. To me, she cried. Her little yelps were a cry for help. It all seemed so unnatural. I returned to flea world after purchasing literature about elephants in the entertainment industry and how their lives are usually very lonely and very detrimental to their health. I gladly handed out this literature to people walking by. It did not last very long. Security escorted me off the grounds. I vowed from that day forth to be a voice for these beautiful, intelligent elephants whose voices go unnoticed by those who senslessly beat them, abuse them, and use them, all for the sake of the almighty dollar. Dondi opened my eyes. She was a small Asian elephant. There is no way she had adequate exercise or living space. During her time on the road (most of the year) she has very little room to move about. Dondi was deprived and starved of the company of other elephants. Her owners believed their love was enough to sustain this animal. I believe all they did for the past three decades is deprive Dondi, and ultimately, they have killed her. These people are scum. They should have been fined ten times over by the USDA. I hope to God they never come into possession of another animal to use and abuse for entertainment. I cried my eyes out when I read this today. Dondi has a very special place in my heart. I feel as though I have let her down. I should have tried harder. I always held out hope that one day Dondi could walk the fields and pastures of the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee or PAWS in California. 36 years is far too short for any elephant. She was just a young adult. Phil and his family should be nothing but ashamed of themselves. I am sickened. Dondi, I love you.
Many thanks to IDA and all the wonderful people working so hard to free these wondrous creatures. If we had more people willing to get involved and try to make a real difference there would be less of a need for activists like IDA. God bless you.