Elephant Transfer to Sanctuaries (Past Cases/Documentary)

  Discussions of elephant welfare and how (especially older elephants) can benefit from relocation out of zoos and into sanctuaries have occurred in the past several years re; specific cases in Anchorage, Edmonton and Toronto zoos.  In the cases involving Anchorage and Toronto, four elephants were transferred to the PAWS sanctuary in California.  All have readjusted and are doing very well.  Their current status is available here:   http://www.pawsweb.org/meet_elephants.html

From PETA http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/zoos/get-elephants-zoos/:

Elephants require vast spaces to roam, socialize, and express their natural behavior. They are highly social animals who, in the wild, live in matriarchal herds, forage for fresh vegetation, play, bathe in rivers, travel as far as 30 miles per day, and are active for 18 hours per day. 

Zoos’ lack of space creates health problems in elephants, such as muscular-skeletal ailments, arthritis, foot and joint diseases, reproductive problems, high infant mortality rates, and psychological distress (as is evidenced by repetitive swaying, head-bobbing, and pacing). Captivity-induced health problems are the leading cause of death of elephants in zoos—they are dying decades short of their expected life span. 

The elephant standards adopted by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) are woefully inadequate, and many AZA zoos that display elephants do not meet even these meager requirements. The AZA’s indoor space requirements can be satisfied with a stall that is only 20 feet by 20 feet in area; this means extreme confinement for elephants who are kept indoors overnight and during inclement weather. Outdoor enclosures need measure only 40 feet by 45 feet—about the size of a three-car garage.

A number of zoos have already chosen to close down their elephant exhibits (Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, etc) to enable their elephants to live out their lives under more humane conditions.

Re; the elephants associated with the Anchorage, Edmonton and Toronto zoos, attached is a four part documentary that provides a great deal of information: