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alyne16

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May 13, 2011 alyne16 commented on Cash Cows.

Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants has always acknowledged that the elephant keepers at WPZ take as good care of the elephants as they can under the circumstances. Over 3 ½ years of observing the elephants, we have documented that they are locked up for 16-17 hours for about 7 months of the year: AZA guidelines require this because of our climate. Using the numbers taken directly from the barn’s blueprints, we have told the WPZ and the Zoo Board that the human equivalent of the space in which the elephants are locked – one being in solitary confinement – is a square cell 4 feet on each side. It is the zoo environment that kills animals prematurely: in the past 11 years, half of the 76 elephants who have died in AZA accredited facilities, like WPZ, never reached the age of 40. The natural lifespan of elephants is 60-70 years. In other words, zoos are killing elephants prematurely just as poachers and loss of habitat are doing but in zoos they suffer every single day.

The Zoo Board can be leaders in education and heroes of compassion by voting to release the elephants. It’s a win all the way around:
• The city gets out from under a law suit.
• The zoo saves about $400,000.00 which is based on the last time WPZ released figures in 1995. (The zoo knew how much it cost to run the Nocturnal House last year. It would be financially irresponsible to not know how much it costs to keep elephants)
• Bamboo, Chai, Watoto and Sri get the life we owe them.

Alyne Fortgang, Co-founder, Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants

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May 11, 2011 alyne16 commented on Cash Cows.

The Elephant Sanctuary has offered to pay all the expenses: transport and care for life at no cost to the city or the zoo. It's a win all the way around. The Zoo's PR dept. could teach our children such an incredible lesson in compassion and selflessness.

May 11, 2011 alyne16 commented on Cash Cows.

Science, death statistics and common sense tells us elephants don't belong in tiny urban zoos. Allowing Bamboo, Chai and Watoto to live out their lives at the 2,700 acre Elephant Sanctuary is the best we can do - ASAP!

May 11, 2011 alyne16 joined My Stranger Face

May 11, 2011 alyne16 commented on Cash Cows.

Science, death statistics and common sense tells us elephants don't belong in tiny urban zoos. The 2,700 acre Elephant Sanctuary is the best we can do for them