Petitioning The Executive Leadership Team of Woodland Park Zoo and 2 others
Send the Woodland Park Zoo Elephants, Chai and Bamboo, to a sanctuary
This is a petition generated by the kids of the Children Helping Elephants movement in Seattle, WA.
Background: The Woodland Park Zoo (WPZ) in Seattle, WA, has decided to close it's elephant exhibit. This decision was made after years of public pressure. Instead of sending the two elephants to a sanctuary as many experts recommend the public would prefer, WPZ has decided to send them to the Oklahoma City Zoo which has less acreage per elephant than WPZ and a less hospitable climate. The Seattle community is not happy about this decision and the region's children are taking action.
The following petition statement is a compilation of children’s quotes collected by Children Helping Elephants. Contributors range in age from 4-16 and come from all across the Seattle region. Here is what the kids say:
“What happens to elephants matters to us. Elephants are living creatures with minds of their own. They have feelings, just like you and me. They need a lot of space to move their bodies and be healthy. When they never get to explore or see new things, they get bored. Sometimes they get mad. Wouldn’t you be mad if you weren’t allowed to decide what to do with your own body? How would you feel if you were behind a fence with nothing to do and lots of strangers staring at you every day for your entire life?
When we watch elephants in zoos, we aren’t watching them be elephants. We are watching them be sad. We don’t need elephants in zoos so that we can learn about them. There are so many other ways to learn about elephants that are more interesting and that don’t make elephants sad and unhealthy. Watching the elephants on sanctuary cameras, we can see them being their elephant selves. We see them feeling relaxed, being friends, playing. It’s not the same as watching what they do in the wild, but they are so much happier than zoo elephants. The only thing we learn about elephants from zoos is that zoos aren’t right for elephants.
What the zoo is doing to Chai and Bamboo is wrong. It makes us worry that they are doing wrong things for other animals too and that makes us not want to go to the zoo anymore.
We ask all the adults who agree with us to sign this petition. It will also help if you write a letter to the zoo so they will know that we all care about Chai and Bamboo. We ask kids who care to make art for the elephants and share it with us so we can see other kids’ ideas.
Please help us save the elephants.”
--The Kids of the Children Helping Elephants movement, Seattle, WA
More about Children Helping Elephants:
This effort began with one girl named Stella who wanted to help the elephants. Stella decided the best way to advocate for Chai and Bamboo was through art. Stella and her mom started a website so that other kids could participate and share their creations, as well as a Facebook page. We know that lots of other children care about the elephants and that many voices raised together are a powerful force for change. Children Helping Elephants has collected art and ideas from children all over the region advocating for the sanctuary move. We held an exhibit of the art collected during the first two weeks of the effort. We hope you will join our movement and spread the word to all of the children in your life! Our mission is to help elephants while also empowering children to create positive change in the world.
LETTER TO
The Executive Leadership Team of Woodland Park Zoo
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray
The Members of the Seattle City Council
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