A constant error made by spokesmen for zoos is the very words spoken by Ms Allianic.
Quote; "The protesters want to eventually close down all zoos." Unquote
If zoos can give each animal they show in as close to its natural environment as possible - and hopefully ban the Ankus {Bull Hook} , protesters would cheer. The most difficult animal to house correctly is the elephant. That is not the elephants fault, they were born to roam with family and friends of their own kind. If a zoo cannot achieve this then being humane- one would think they would accept the truth and retire their elephants to The Sanctuary in TN. Most of the "Old, sick and needy" that arrive there, heal very nicely.

While I can agree with some aspects of the protesters, they are, unfortunately, spreading some information that is not correct. Standing on the sidelines, I've looked into some claims on both sides and discovered that although the zoo may not be the most advantageous location for elephants, they are not as bad as these folks portray them. First, Woodland Park does not uses bull hooks, the keepers don't go with the elephants and abandoned those hooks several years ago. Second, the sanctuary in Tenn. doesn't take African elephants, only Asians so all three elephants couldn't go there, basically breaking them up after being together nearly 40 years. Third, the winter temps in Tenn. are far colder than Seattle which means that the elephants at the sanctuary have to, yep, stay in the heated barns for days at a time. Fourth, but not last certainly, while African elephant do often wander miles, mostly in search of dwindling food and water sources, Asian elephant generally don't wander as they are forest animals with more localized and ample food and water supplies. As a former worker with a noted animal rights organization, I can say that many of these organizations do want to eliminate zoos, but also ranches, farms and yes, even pets, as these are all forms of institutionalized "slavery." Anything less is halfway. I do applaud people for wanting to better the predicament of animals, but not through incorrect misinformation.

I'm sorry but I must correct "Guest" as that person has made false statements, that must be corrected.
The Elephant Sanctuary in TN does take Africans, two are living there at this moment. The talk of the winter temperatures is also false, the elephants are encouraged to the barn, not forced, if the temperature drops to a certain level for one or two nights of the year. The following morning the caregivers give them breakfast and things to do until the temperature rises just enough to be safe, and believe me those elephants want to be out in the crisp air, hoping that a skiff of snow is on the ground to play with. As for wandering, the Africans and the Asians wander their sections of the 2700 acres at The Sanctuary. Don't ever say the elephants at The Sanctuary are kept indoors for days at a time, as that statement is 100% false.

"...the sanctuary in Tenn. doesn't take African elephants, only Asians so all three elephants couldn't go there, basically breaking them up after being together nearly 40 years..."

The above statement is FALSE. Read this:

Goals Achieved Since March 1995:

Construction of a world-class 5-stall African elephant barn.
Rescued 3 endangered African elephants.

http://www.elephants.com/aboutSanctuary.php

If "Guest" can spare the time to log on to www.elephants.com which is the webpage of the Elephant Sanctuary, you would be able to see many pictures and read everything that will explain what their philosophy is with regard to elephants.

They are open about everthing, nothing hidden. Their priority are the elephants. The elephants are allowed to be elephants and never have to perform for humans. they have free choice to come and go, sleep in the heated barns if they want to or stay out under the stars or enjoy thunderstorms and rain. As perfect a life as any captive elephant could wish for. We owe it to them.

All these people attending the Jungle Party probably care for animals or they wouldn't be there. I wish they'd reconsider their views for the elephants at WPZ and work on a compassionate campaign to let them go to the sanctuary in Tennessee. Furthermore the zoo should stop the elephant breeding program entirely and not bring another little one to a life of misery and possible death like with little Hansa.
WPZ should acquire a sanctuary mentality like the Detroit Zoo and take in rescued animals who are in need, coming from horrible roadside zoos or circuses going bankrupt or from people hoarding exotic animals they cannot longer keep.

Has anyone ever seen the sanctuary in Tennessee? I read ont heir site that people aren't allowed to see the elephants so how do we know what they are saying is true? Do we just take their word for it? Just wondering. I ask because I went to a tiger sanctuary in CA and it was a MESS and I wonder what kind of oversight these places have?

You didn't do your homework - There are two African elephants, Tange and Flora, at the Elephant Sanctuary. They don't take males, or didn't until Ned was confiscated too late in his young life (21 years) but died after superlative care there. The Seattle African elephants would never be split up there.

As far as weather, the barns have heated floors, but the eles only go in of their own free will at night. All go out in the day in whatever weather and that it is their choosing. Some don't come back to the barn in the summer at all. THEY ARE FREE to choose.

If an animal has sacrificed its life for decades to our superficial entertainment, then the least it deserves is retirement to a sanctuary for its remaining years. Anything less is pure human selfishness.

BTW how would you like to be constantly exposed to the squealing and squalling of children with no peace in your life?

I've been on a tour of TES because of the amount I donated - see their 'membership and how you can help.' There are the most state of the art barns, I wish I was so well fed and my house that clean. Everything is set up to make these eles happy and to finally have a life the eles themselves choose.

But it is the TES philosophy that the elephants should never have to perform again and that is TES rule. As I mentioned above both zoo and worse for circus eles never have any peace in their lives and that is only one small reason why they are left alone to choose their life and friends - this is not mentioning the abuse and arthritis from standing on concrete in zoos and not being able to roam for their circulation. But the eles love the people who care for them, even with the PTSD they have. When the eles are roaming, food is carted to them on 4 wheelers, their personal favorite foods, to where ever they are in the 2700 acres.

Other sanctuaries, like pawsweb.org let people in for less and people can get a little closer on tours. They are not quite the 'purists' as TES but their animals are equally as lucky to have landed/have been confiscated to there.

Both places have web cams. They are hiding nothing.

When one signs in as "Guest" and then another does the same, or are they all one person? An interesting situation. Those who know The Sanctuary, know three Africans were there, and we know their names, Zula passed away from natural cause, thereby leaving two Africans, Tange and Flora. So if "Guest" is one person, the posts changed attitude in the middle, difficult to tell when no name is shown. One thing we can agree on no matter who or how many "Guests" we are talking with, The Elephant Sanctuary is wide open with all information re elephants, how they operate, what their wages are, the whole nine yards, anything you want to know, they will tell you.

There are a couple of zoos that do a good job with their elephant exhibits. The Woodland Park Zoo is not one of them. At the Summit for Elephants, a three day seminar for folks interested in the welfare of elephants, (put on by the Performing Animal Welfare Society) there were speakers from the Oakland Zoo and the North Carolina Zoo. Both of these zoos do a good job with their elephant exhibits. Their elephants are thriving. If you want to know how they do it, why not contact them and get real information on what it takes to have a successful elephant exhibit. Also at the Summit was the director from the Detroit Zoological Society who came to the decision that their facility could not house elephants correctly. He made a decision to close the elephant exhibit and send the elephants to the PAWS sanctuary. In spite of all the concerns that attendance would go down, that has NOT materialized. He reported that their attendance has risen every year. You can read his decision process here:
http://www.detroitzoo.org/News%10Events/In_the_News/Elephants_-_Question...
Why doesn't the Woodland Park Zoo substantially expand it's elephant exhibit and make it something that is healthy for the elephants? Take cues from the Oakland zoo, the Detroit zoo and the North Carolina zoo. If that's not possible, then send them to a sanctuary.

What about the children? Shouldn't they get to see elephants nearby and not have to go to redneck tennessee? I have seen the conditions at the zoo and they seem pretty good to me. I am not Fay Morris "elephant wisperer" though. There are other causes that need protesting and the accompaning media attention (two wars, economy, our own environment). Claudine hopes people will think of the animals by protesting, please, don't delude yourself. They are thinking get a life people!

GUEST!

When one considers all the wasted media attention given to Michael Jackson's children, the Octomom, and Oprah's weight issues, I think it is valid that the media focuses some of its resources on these elephants and their well-being.

While the cause to liberate these elephants as well as many others from zoos and circuses nationwide may not be as crucial as the wars or our economy, I feel that man's cruelty to the enslaved elephants says a lot about who we are as a culture, and our compassion toward elephants sets a crucial, positive tone for our children, and for our society as a whole.

you guys are retarded. Our keepers take fantastic care of us. Our exhibit is great. I used to love our pool. It isn't the zoo's fault I died. It isn't anyone's fault. Sometimes Animals (and people) contract deadly diseases. it's just the way life is sometimes. you protesting idiots should get your facts straight and find something better to do with your time. The elephants at WPZ are healthy and happy.

Hansa died from a captivity-induced virus - wild elephants (without contact with humans or other elephants in contact with humans) do not get the herpes virus. Yes, there may have been an instance of a wild elephant contracting the disease from elephants used by humans - but it is a human-caused problem for elephants. "ghost of Hansa" spews the same misinformation the zoo put out.

Elephants in zoos are not "healthy and happy" - even at the "good" zoos listed some of the comments do not provide enough space for elephants - eventually theelephants become bored from being caged in the same space. Elephants are complex, migratory beings - confining them to zoo enclosures is counter educational because these elephants are not able to be elephants -- they are not able to encounter different herds, remain with aunties, sisters, mothers for life, migrate to different terrains, etc. You can't learn that from watching elephants in a zoo enclosure. Just simply seeing an elephant doesn't mean one has learned about who elephants are ... zoos teach children it is ok to cage these animals for your viewing pleasure - look at the chimp, look at the hippo ... ok now on to the tigers. Zoo researchers have documented that patrons spend very short amounts of time at each enclosure - the most time spent on average doesn't exceed 2-3 minutes.

Ghost of Hansa stated: "The elephants at WPZ are healthy and happy."
Oh, yah, then why are you a ghost?
Who's the idiot now?