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

“The Central Florida Zoo has an important decision to make for Maude,” said IDA’s elephant campaign director Catherine Doyle. “Will Maude spend the remainder of her days in a small, unnatural zoo exhibit, or a spacious, natural habitat sanctuary where she would have room to roam, the companionship of other Asian elephants, and a permanent home?”

The zoo’s small and outdated elephant exhibit can only hold two elephants and lacks the space and natural conditions that elephants need to thrive. While the zoo could opt to acquire a second elephant, it is unlikely because it would still not be compliant with elephant standards set by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) that require zoos hold no less than three female elephants.

In the letter to Montisano, IDA raised concerns about sending Maude to another zoo because of the possibility that she may not integrate with new cage-mates and could be moved yet again to another zoo, or be forced to live segregated from other elephants. Because sanctuaries have greater space, elephants integrate easily into social groups and soon form lasting bonds with companions of their own choosing.

The two leading U.S. sanctuaries, The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee and PAWS in California, have set the standard for the care of captive elephants by providing spacious and complex environments that give elephants the space they need for movement, large social groups, and high quality veterinary care. All the elephants living in sanctuaries spent many years in captivity, like Maude, and all have made the transition to this more natural environment.

Eleven AZA-accredited zoos have sent elephants to sanctuaries, including zoos in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Detroit. No AZA-accredited zoo that has sent an elephant to a sanctuary has lost its accreditation for doing so.

“Maude has spent her life on public display, the last 27 years of it at the Central Florida Zoo,” concluded Doyle. “Relocation to a sanctuary is the most reasonable and humane choice for her, one we are sure the public will support as it will give Maude the highest quality of life possible.”

Dr. Elliot Katz, IDA’s President and a veterinarian, added “At Maude’s age, if she stays in a zoo she’s likely to develop arthritis or other health complications, due to lack of space for exercise and standing on hard surfaces like concrete. Arthritis is a painful and potentially deadly condition for an elephant. A sanctuary provides the soft soil, space and exercise that elephants need to stay healthy.”

Read IDA’s letter to the Central Florida Zoo. For more information, visit www.HelpElephants.com.

March 5, 2010

Contact: Catherine Doyle, zoos@idausa.org, 323-301-5730