Check out today’s San Diego Union-Tribune for our op-ed calling for an end to zoo elephant exhibits. No matter how many millions of dollars these exhibits cost, they cause tremendous mental and physical suffering, and zoos are morally and factually wrong to claim they need to keep imprisoning these thinking, feeling beings for the species to survive.
To show just how in denial zoos are of the harms they cause, have a look at what the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, which manages the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, wrote in their op-ed, published alongside ours. Here they’re referring to a group of wild-born elephants unjustly and unnecessarily imported to the US from Africa:
The seven elephants we rescued in 2003 are now thriving. Their families residing at the Safari Park and other partnering zoos have grown, and the ones here are experiencing the joys of life in one of the most beautiful places in the world — America’s finest city.
To hear them tell it, the elephants are living their best lives in a condo by the beach, exploring the San Diego area without a care in the world. In reality, they’re confined to two largely barren dirt pens that are radically smaller than their natural range. That sounds more like a prison yard to us.
It’s definitely no coincidence that the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, a sort of hub for captive elephant breeding in the US, is posting about their world-class elephant care (their words) on their Instagram today. The battle for elephants’ right to liberty takes place in the public sphere as much as in the courts. You can help by sharing our op-ed, commenting on the San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s Instagram post, and commenting on the Tribune’s tweet of the zoo’s op-ed.
