For Immediate Release: March 7, 2008 Contact: Marianne Bessey (610) 733-1248
Saturday Petition Drive at Zoo to Save Elephants
Saving Elephants Begins at Home as Africa Plans to Slaughter Elephants
March 7, 2008 – Philadelphia, PA – Tomorrow, local citizens and members of grassroots group Friends of Philly Zoo Elephants will gather signatures to urge the South African government to use non-lethal population control methods on the wild elephants in their country. A large group of local residents is expected to gather to raise awareness and collect signatures.
Last month, South African officials announced plans to kill thousands of elephants starting May 1 due to diminishing habitat. The petition calls on the South African government to use non-lethal methods such as non-hormonal contraceptives, range manipulation and translocation of elephants instead of the mass slaughter. The proposed slaughter is at best a short-term solution because without additional intervention, the elephant population will only continue to increase in the future.
Friends of Philly Zoo Elephants (FPZE) also is asking the Philadelphia Zoo to put elephant welfare as a priority and delegate resources to prevent the killing of wild elephants rather than waste money on breeding elephants in captivity. FPZE spokesperson Marianne Bessey said, “If zoos truly cared about elephants, they would be saving thousands of elephants who are at risk of slaughter in a matter of weeks rather than waste millions on breeding a handful in captivity.”
What: Demonstration
Who: Concerned citizens and members of Friends of Philly Zoo Elephants
When: Saturday, March 8, 2008, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Where: Public Sidewalk in front of Philadelphia Zoo, 34th Street and Girard Ave.
Philadelphia Zoo elephants Petal, Kallie and Bette are slated to move to a breeding facility in central Pennsylvania later this year where the younger two will be forcibly bred in attempt to produce more elephants for display. Zoo director Vik Dewan has expressed uncertainty about the elephants’ future, stating that they will first be shipped to the breeding facility and that their future after that is unknown. The Performing Animal Welfare Society, a 2,300-acre sanctuary in California, and home to 12 former zoo and circus elephants, has offered a lifetime home to all three elephants Bette at no charge.
A long and heated controversy has raged at the Philadelphia Zoo since its financially-based decision in October 2005 not to build a new enclosure for its elephants - estimated to cost more than $22 million. In April of last year, the Philadelphia Zoo announced plans to send the remaining African elephants to the Pittsburgh Zoo’s “International Conservation Center,” where animals including elephants, rhinos, and African wild dogs are to be bred for display in zoos around the country. The breeding facility continues the zoo-industry’s business interest for the display of elephants in zoos and is fundamentally flawed with the following concerns:
• Management style (use of negative stimuli such as the bullhook)
• Social problems (shifting of animals in and out; separating bonded elephants)
• Breeding factory (breeding elephants to be put on display in various zoos)
• Lack of transparency and public accountability
• Diverts funds from TRUE conservation such as habitat protection and anti-poaching efforts in range countries
Friends of Philly Zoo Elephants is a group of local advocates who are concerned about the elephants at the Philadelphia Zoo. For more information, please visit www.helpphillyzooelephants.com.
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