Livin’ Veg

India Frees Elephants. We Should Do The Same. November 17, 2009

Photo from the LA Times

The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) in India has declared that all elephants in zoos and circuses should be taken off display and sent to national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves ASAP.

Why did they reach this fabulous conclusion? They say the following in the India Times:

“CZA’s order is binding on all zoos. Elephants are large animals and require a large area to move about freely. The environment of a zoo can be very restrictive. The animals have great use for departmental work, eco-tourism, patrolling etc and a decision has been taken to send them to national parks and tiger reserves where they can be under the supervision of mahauts,” said A N Prasad, director, Project Elephant.

Obviously the CZA gets what so many zoos and circuses in the USA do not. Elephants need more space than these facilities can provide. So why keep elephants especially if many zoos (as they claim) have the animal’s best interests in mind? Because elephants bring in big money. To be fair, some zoos have phased out their elephant exhibit for just the reasons the CZA expressed. A zoo cannot provide a quality habitat for an animal of that size. (I’d argue they can’t provide a quality habitat for any animal but I digress.) For a circus, elephants are a main attraction and a large source of income. No way they are giving up elephants without a claws out fight with animal activists. How wonderful India has an organization like the CZA that can give a independent assessment of the elephant’s needs. I’m so jealous.

Boston Zoo Closing - May Euthanize Animals July 13, 2009

Update: Click here to see the Governor’s response to this story. He emphatically denies that any animals will be euthanized.

Original Post: People are definitely not the only victims of this recession. Animals (being one of the first expendable “items” in the minds of people) are pushed to the side when money gets tight. The Franklin Park Zoo in Boston is up on the chopping block due to financial cut backs from the city. And now the animals who live there are in danger. Read the full article here… (The picture to the right is from the article.)

They have about 1000 animals and are looking to rehome them but…

The zoo officials, in a written statement that echoed a letter sent earlier to legislative leaders, said they would be unlikely to find homes for at least 20% of the animals, “requiring either destroying them, or the care of the animals in perpetuity.”

20%. My shoddy 11th grade math skills tell me that’s 200 animals in mortal danger. I can’t even express the grief that makes me feel. Not only has the Franklin Park Zoo caged these creatures for the duration of their lives, but now when the animals could finally be “free” they may be killed instead. And when I say free, I don’t mean roaming in the wild, but perhaps at a sanctuary. Wouldn’t that be something.

I’m going to keep my ear on this story and give you any updates I hear about.

What Do You Think Of Zoos - Yay or Nay? March 12, 2009

The other day I mentioned my dislike of zoos, even the good ones like the Bronx Zoo. I’m curious about other people’s opinions. So tell me, do you think zoos are beneficial to animal welfare, or do you think they exploit animals? Leave a comment…

My problem with zoos is that exhibits can’t possibly give the animal anything like a normal life. And most zoos don’t have the money to give the animals much space. In college with my animal rights class, we went to the Bronx Zoo to look around and ask the hard questions. Some of the exhibits broke my heart. Even their primate exhibit which is supposed to be newly designed and amazing, to me, felt awful. Kids were banging on the plastic and the primates were on display like an xmas window at Macy’s.

There is the argument that zoos have great conservation efforts. But there is controversy there too. Does breeding endangered animals in captivity really do anything to help their numbers? And yes, they offer information on habitats and let kids see animals up close. But seeing them in captivity, held there for the benefit of people - I’m not sure that sets a good example. I think it shows kids that animals are here for our amusement.

Anyway, like I said, I’d love to hear some opinions on this…

Billy the Elephant Loses January 30, 2009

Bob Barker and a bunch of other celebrities put up a fight. But they lost. The City Council voted that Billy the Elephant should stay at the L.A. Zoo and live in what will be a new 42 million dollar enclosure.

The article says:

The decision came after an emotional hearing attended by several hundred people. Barker, actress-singer Cher and actress Lily Tomlin were among them after Barker pledged $1.5 million earlier this week to move Billy to a sanctuary in Northern California.

I’m a big believer that no elephant should live in a zoo. Elephants in their natural lives walk about 20 miles daily. An enclosure cannot provide that kind of movement. Personally, I’m not a big fan of zoos anyway. People cite the Bronx Zoo and some other larger well funded places as success stories and tout their conservation efforts. But the truth is, most zoos are not the Bronx Zoo. And even the Bronx Zoo can’t give the animals the kind of quality of life they would have in the wild. It’s just impossible. And for elephants, due to their size, it’s ten times impossible.

To read Billy the Elephant’s full story, click here. I certainly hope he does okay. The L.A. Zoo doesn’t have a good track record with elephants. But my fingers are crossed for him.

eBay Bans Trade in Ivory October 27, 2008

HSUS just alerted me that eBay has made the ethical decision to stop the trade of ivory on their auction website. This will take effect on January 1, 2009. eBay used to allow ivory, because not all ivory is illegal. Antiques more than 100 years old and mammoth ivory are legal. But, how did ebay tell the difference between legal and poached? They couldn’t. Hence the ban.

Wayne Pacelle, the CEO of HSUS writes in his blog:

eBay’s decision will deny ivory traffickers an important marketplace to sell their goods and it will save some elephants from poachers by drying up a major sales pathway. As many as 23,000 African elephants are poached annually. China is the leading destination for most of this ivory—about one-third of the ivory for sale in the United States was recently carved and illegally imported from China. And a lot of that ivory is offered on eBay.

So comment on eBay’s announcement and say thanks if you’ve got a spare moment. Big companies making ethical decisions for animals are rare. And we like to applaud good behavior.