Write to the City Council, Mayor and Zoo
In 2002, The City of Seattle entered into a 20-year Operating Agreement with the Woodland Park Zoological Society. The City has oversight and must be assured that the Zoo is following all city, state and federal animal welfare laws. The City gives $6.5 million tax dollars each year to the Zoo with increases each year and levies. The City Council needs to hear from you, especially if you are a Seattle or King County tax payer; that you don’t want funding to go to Woodland Park Zoo until Bamboo, Chai and Watoto are freed to 2,700 acre Elephant Sanctuary or just a single-sentence like: ”Send the WPZ elephants to The Elephant Sanctuary” will have an impact.
All addresses: sally.bagshaw@seattle.gov, richard.conlin@seattle.gov, sally.clark@seattle.gov, nick.licata@seattle.gov, bruce.harrell@seattle.gov, tim.burgess@seattle.gov, jean.godden@seattle.gov, mike.obrien@seattle.gov, tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov,deborah.jensen@zoo.org
Consider the following points when writing your letters on behalf of the elephants incarcerated for life at Woodland Park Zoo or click on Issues for a complete overview of the elephant program.
- They have an inhumane amount of space (less than 1 acre), whereas they would have between 300 and 2200 acres at The Elephant Sanctuary.
- They are locked up in a small barn stall 16 – 17 hours a day for about 7 months of the year due to temperatures and wetness. At The Elephant Sanctuary, they would have 24-hour outdoor access all year long.
- Many elephants with symptoms similar to the elephants at WPZ, have thrived at The Elephant Sanctuary with it’s hundreds of acres of varying terrain, fresh foliage, and water features.
- The Woodland Park Zoo is managed privately but is still owned by the City of Seattle and overseen by the Parks, Neighborhoods & Education Committee. About $6.5 million taxpayer dollars goes to support the zoo.
- Anything else that is important to you about the elephants!
Individual contacts listed below:
Mike McGinn, Mayor
mike.mcginn@seattle.gov, 206-684-4000
Sally Bagshaw, Seattle City Council, Parks Committee Chair
sally.bagshaw@seattle.gov, 206-684-8801
Richard Conlin, Seattle City Council, Council President
richard.conlin@seattle.gov, 206-684-8805
Sally J. Clark, Seattle City Council
sally.clark@seattle.gov, 206-684-8802
Nick Licata, Seattle City Council
nick.licata@seattle.gov, 206-684-8803
Bruce Harrell, Seattle City Council
bruce.harrell@seattle.gov, 206-684-8804
Tim Burgess, Seattle City Council
tim.burgess@seattle.gov, 206-684-8806
Jean Godden, Seattle City Council
jean.godden@seattle.gov, 206-684-8807
Tom Rasmussen, Seattle City Council
tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov, 206-684-8808
Mike O’Brien, Seattle City Council
mike.obrien@seattle.gov, 206-684-8800
Deborah Jensen, Woodland Park Zoo President
deborah.jensen@zoo.org, 206-548-2416
Or, send a letter to each of the above council members at the following address:
[Name of Councilmember]
Seattle City Hall
PO Box 34025
Seattle, WA 98124-4025
Or, fax them at 206-684-8587.
Volunteer
We have a variety of educational/awareness opportunities:
- Attend protests and demonstrations!
- Speakers. If you are comfortable with public speaking, we can use you!
- Letter writers. Opportunities arise when we need people to write letters.
- Handing out a kid-friendly fliers at the Zoo on weekends during the summer. We always have two volunteers at a time so you’d never be there alone. You can sign up for Saturday or Sunday. June through September. Do it once or do it often!
- Banner drops. Twice a week from June through September, we hang banners off one or two of the overpasses on Highway 99 at rush hour. The overpasses happen to be right where the elephant exhibit is located.
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