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Happy update and how you can help
Dear John,
Last week, my colleague Courtney shared the news that we believe something seriously wrong is happening [[link removed]] in the Bronx Zoo elephant exhibit–more wrong than usual, that is.
No one knows yet exactly what’s going on, but we do know that neither we, nor any of the advocates who’ve gone to the zoo to check on Happy, have seen her outside in two weeks and counting. This means she's spending most if not all of her time inside the zoo's tiny “elephant barn.” What is the elephant barn? Well, like so much of what goes on at this or any zoo, no one knows exactly what the elephants’ lives are like in this building. To our knowledge, the Bronx Zoo and the Wildlife Conservation Society stopped letting reporters see it while our case to free Happy was ongoing. They did, however, tout the barn in a 2018 episode of Animal Planet’s The Zoo— presenting its barred and chain-lined cages proudly and seemingly with no regard for the fact that each cage looks exactly like what it is: a prison cell. This is where Happy appears to be spending her time now and where she spends it in the winter months when the exhibit is closed to the public.
On Wednesday, The City —a digital news platform dedicated to hard-hitting, high-quality, and high-impact accountability reporting— published a story [[link removed]] about Happy’s disappearance. On the same day, the Bronx Zoo and the Wildlife Conservation Society, which manages the zoo, finally issued a statement in response to the growing public outcry about Happy. The statement is linked to in the story. Unsurprisingly, they claim that nothing is wrong with Happy–that she’s choosing to stay indoors. To be clear, the outdoor exhibit area in no way provides the appropriate environment for Happy or Patty, the other elephant held alone in captivity in the Bronx Zoo (with the zoo claiming the elephants don't get along). However, there’s simply no scenario where an elephant would choose confinement in a building day after day unless something was wrong physically, mentally, or emotionally. The zoo can attempt to co-opt the word “choice” all it wants, but the fact is, Happy has no choice over any aspect of her life. That’s what it means to be an elephant in captivity in a zoo.
We are all entitled to be told the truth about Happy. And, of course, the Bronx Zoo and the Wildlife Conservation Society should have sent her to a sanctuary a long time ago. Their continued refusal and their denial that anything is wrong suggest that they care more about exploiting Happy for profit than allowing her to thrive and flourish, which is shameful.
Thanks so much to everyone who took action last week to help shine a light on Happy. Today, we’re asking you to help by sharing The City ’s story, especially with any New Yorkers you know. We’ll send further updates as soon as we have them.
Read and share → [[link removed]]
With gratitude,
Elizabeth Stein
Litigation Director, the NhRP
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The NhRP is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation (Tax ID #: 04-3289466). It is solely through your donations that we can continue to work for the recognition and protection of fundamental rights for nonhuman animals.
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