Dondi
An elephant in a Massachusetts Zoo has died at the young age of 36, according to In Defense of Animals’ blog:
IDA filed a complaint today with the USDA, urging an investigation into the death of Dondi, an Asian elephant held at the Southwick’s Zoo in Mendon, Massachusetts. She died on Wednesday, after suffering an unidentified illness. Dondi’s unexpected death raises a red flag because at age 36 she should have been in the prime of life.
Check out this new video, created exclusively to help the elephants at Woodland Park Zoo!
Regarding the recent lawsuit against the City of Seattle for its taxpayer-funded support of elephant cruelty at the zoo, local DVM responded in a letter to the editor in the Seattle Times:
I have two main concerns with the Woodland Park Zoo elephants [“Zoo sued over care of elephants,” NWWednesday, June 30]. The first lies in the way Chai is continuously inseminated despite the knowledge she will once again pass deadly herpes to any of her future offspring.
Any calf born at Woodland Park Zoo may likely die from Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV) before the age of 10. Of the young Asian elephants who get sick with herpes, 85 percent die.
My second concern lies in the knowledge that elephants need room to walk. Only in nice weather can the elephants be out on one acre, an enclosure that does not allow for proper lymphatic circulation. The Tennessee sanctuary would give these captive zoo elephants more than 2,000 acres and a natural water source.
The notion that we must keep elephants chained behind bars is antiquated in the time of webcam, when a visit with her at the sanctuary is only as far as the nearest computer screen.
This legal Complaint for Injunctive Relief was filed with the Superior Court of the state of Washington for King County with help from the Animal Legal Defense Fund. The lawsuit is brought against the City of Seattle, asking that it “cease its waste and unlawful use of City funds to support ongoing illegal conduct at the Zoo.”
Download the full complaint here.
Urge the City of Seattle to stop funding the Woodland Park Zoo’s cruel elephant exhibit. Sign the petition today.
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