Campaign updates

Tembo and Sunda Update—7-27-12

July 1 and 2, 2012: Catherine Doyle of In Defense of Animals and I visited the Topeka Zoo.  On July 1, we toured the entire zoo. From what we observed, it is clear that the zoo could use the money they would save by closing the elephant exhibit to address the  many, many USDA formal complaints against them.  

During our visit, the elephants were indoors part of the time possibly due to the extreme  heat.  While they were out, we were able to obtain photos of Sunda’s feet.  They have deteriorated quite a bit since Catherine saw them two years ago.  We were both shocked by the actual gaping holes in her left front foot and right rear foot.  While eating hay she leaned to the right and then to the left in order to lift one foot at a time to try to relieve pressure on each foot.  Once both elephants finished eating, they began the stereotypical rocking which is evidence of extreme psychological stress and suffering.  We obtained some footage of the rocking behavior.  Catherine later showed the photos of her feet to Dr. Mel Richardson, a veterinarian who saw the elephants two years ago.  His comment was as follows:

"When I examined Sunda's feet in Topeka early 2010, it was apparent the keepers were working to mitigate her chronic foot disease.  Although she had several areas of concern, the staff appeared to have her condition under control at that time. These photos indicate that is no longer the case. Sunda has an abscess of the 5th nail of her left forefoot  & the 2nd  nail of the right rear.  This has led to a loss of integrity of the nail and allows a portal for bacterial contamination of the underlying structures of the digit and the foot.  This situation sets up the possibility of osteomyelitis or infection of the bone, which subsequently can lead to Sunda's death.  This is a painful condition and Sunda has no choice but to stand and walk on these painful toenails." Mel Richardson, D.V.M.

Catherine and I also met with the Zoo Director, Brendan Wiley. We told him about Sunda’s feet and reiterated our position on sending both elephants to the Sanctuary.  He stated that he had to speak to the City Council in a work session before he could talk to anyone else about what the choices might be. 

July 12, 2012:  WIBW quoted Wiley as saying “What I may hope is not as important as what is best for these two animals [the elephants] and this community as a whole.”  This could be a hopeful sign.  It’s possible he is saying that he hopes for an expanded elephant exhibit, but that may not be what is best for Tembo and Sunda.  Obviously it wouldn’t be since probably neither one of them would live long enough in the zoo to see an expanded exhibit.  Also, the zoo has to construct a quarantine building for the apes and large carnivores, as per AZA requirement.  That has to come first and will cost a lot of money.

July 18, 2012: In Defense of Animals filed a complaint to the USDA requesting that they confiscate Sunda and move her to The Elephant Sanctuary, due to the life-threatening condition of her feet.  The USDA has cited the zoo many times for poor elephant foot care and, in 2010, cited them for failure to inspect their feet as frequently as necessary.  Now, IDA is asking the USDA to see for themselves that her feet are worse than ever and to remove her from the zoo and send her to the Sanctuary.   

July 18, 2012:  IDA sends out a press release entitled “In Defense of Animals Warns Topeka Zoo Elephant’s Life is in Danger: Complaint urges USDA to confiscate ailing Sunda due to chronic foot disease.”

July 19, 2012: AOK sends out a press release entitled “Animal Outreach of Kansas applauds complaint filed with USDA to remove elephant Sunda from the Topeka Zoo.”

July 24, 2012: On behalf of AOK I spoke during the public comment portion of the weekly Topeka City Council meeting and showed 18 x 24” photos of Sunda’s feet, read Dr. Richardson’s comment, and asked them to once again retire both elephants to The Elephant Sanctuary.  (Ann Wilson and Mary Blessington both spoke to them in May.)  The Council voted 8 to 1 to give me 2 extra minutes, and Councilman John Alcala asked some good questions that allowed me to share even more information. I also invited them to the July 26 public meeting.  The interim city manager stated that the AZA saw Sunda’s feet a week ago and said they looked fine.  You have to wonder what City Council members thought about that after seeing the pictures of her feet.  I also gave them 8 ½ x 11 photos as well to take home with them.  However, she also said that she and Wiley are planning to hold public meetings in the next few months to get input from citizens about the 3 choices—make no changes, expand the exhibit, or close the exhibit. 

July 25, 2012: Ann Wilson and I are interviewed by J. Schaefer for Kansas Public Radio.  It should air next week. 

July 26, 2012: AOK hosts another public meeting at the Topeka Library, showed pictures of Sunda’s feet, discussed the new developments, showed The Elephant Sanctuary film, showed footage of the elephants stereotypic rocking, and then answered questions from the public.  A lot of great ideas were shared by the audience. 

Update on Topeka, Kansas, Zoo Elephant Campaign

Dated 2-4-12

The Topeka, Kansas, Zoo has been on In Defense of Animals’ “10 Worst Zoos for Elephants” list for several years now.  The local Kansas animal advocacy group, Animal Outreach of Kansas (AOK), has been working since 2007 to close the elephant exhibit and retire the two female elephants, Tembo and Sunda to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

A little history

Since 2007, they have had numerous meetings with city officials and a past and present zoo director.  They requested a City Council work session two years ago at which they hoped to present compelling reasons for moving Tembo and Sunda to the sanctuary.  Catherine Doyle of IDA; Mel Richardson, veterinarian and elephant expert; and Carol Buckley, co-founder of The Elephant Sanctuary, all came to that meeting to help inform the council members about the needs of elephants and the reasons for their recommendations that the elephants be retired.

At the time of that work session (February, 2010), the zoo was undergoing great criticism from the AZA and USDA.  The zoo director had left, and an interim zoo director was temporarily in place until a new director could be hired.  There was a great deal of staff turnover at the time, including the loss of the zoo veterinarian.  So no one wanted to take the heat for a decision to retire the elephants.

As soon as the new zoo director, Brendan Wiley, was hired in May, 2010, AOK contacted him for a meeting.  At the first meeting he seemed open to the idea.  However, as time went on, it appeared he was not moving in that direction.  Therefore, AOK decided to get the citizens of Topeka involved and to get the world watching. 

What’s happening now

Two billboards were erected on Gage Blvd. on January 9, 2012.  The zoo is on Gage between the two billboards.  This caused a firestorm of media attention.  The first day an AOK member was interviewed for TV, and articles appeared in many local newspapers.   Also, the city manager alerted all the city council members , and damage control began.  The TV also interviewed Brendan Wiley who stated that he was not moving the elephants.  Brendan then called AOK members and asked for a meeting.  The hornet’s nest was officially stirred. 

Since then, numerous alerts have gone out to thousands of people who have emailed, phoned, and written letters to city council members and to Brendan.  Several more articles have appeared in the Topeka paper regarding the issue, including one that profiled the fact that city council members were being inundated with mail.  Articles online have generated many comments, the majority of which favor moving the elephants.  When the paper ran a poll asking people to vote, 70% voted in favor of moving the elephants to the sanctuary.  One city councilman asked a group to whom he was speaking to raise their hands if they were in favor, and the majority voted for moving them. 

On top of all this, the AZA is making news in Kansas, as both Wichita and Topeka zoos are not in compliance with elephant standards, and a great deal of money will be required to get into compliance.  Topeka has one Asian (Sunda) and one African (Tembo).  The AZA requires zoos to have at least three elephants of the same species and not to house Asians and Africans in the same area.  Topeka also has to build a million dollar quarantine facility.  In today’s economic climate, the chances are slim of also being able to raise enough money to get two more Asians or Africans and pay enough staff to care for them.  Topeka currently has serious USDA violations pending against them for problems that appear to be related to inadequate staffing. 

So there seem to be many forces working together that may help bring this issue to its proper conclusion, i.e., releasing Tembo and Sunda finally to retire in peace to the haven of The Elephant Sanctuary. 

Future plans

From here we will continue to encourage people to make comments on any relevant online articles and  write letters to the editor of the Topeka Capitol Journal and to the city council members, mayor, city manager, and the zoo director.  AOK will continue to set up meetings with individual council members to inform them about the issue and answer any questions they may have.   We also hope to assemble a group of council members, zoo personnel, and media to visit the Elephant Sanctuary in late April or early May. 

We will also continue to update our website at www.elephantfreedom.com where we have medical and behavioral records, expert testimony letters, contact information for us and for city council and Brendan Wiley, videos of the elephants, and other relevant information.   

Elephant update: 12-11-11 

 

On January 9, two billboards went up on Gage Boulevard in Topeka, Kansas.  There is a website (www.elephantfreedom.com ) where people can get educated about the issue.  There are health records, videos, photos, and other information on the website as well as a way to donate money to the cause.