STOP TRANSFER OF TORONTO ZOO ELEPHANTS TO PAWS - GET THE FACTS ABOUT TUBERCULOSIS@PAWS

  • by: Elle Sawyer
  • recipient: To Toronto City Councillors and The Media of Toronto and Beyond

Only one side of this story is being told, that of the animal rights activists. The other side of the story, supported by documented facts and science has been ignored in lieu of the anti zoo movement. It has been proven and documented that PAWS sanctuary has a tuberculosis crisis at it's Ark200 Sanctuary and that they withheld the truth about this last year from Toronto City Hall, The Toronto Zoo and the people of Toronto. This is not a witchhunt and PAWS is not some innocent victim they have worked strategically and dishonestly with Zoocheck Canada and animal rights sympathizers for the last year to malign the Toronto Zoo and to deny Tuberculosis at their sanctuary. Now they use the celebrity of an 88yr old man to convince the masses that the it's ok to risk these elephants lives in the name of animal rights dogma. Animal rights ideologies and activism should not supersede the true welfare of these elephants. If you are TRUE animal welfare activist you will set aside what is important to you and do what is best for these elephants and that is not to deliberately expose them to tuberculosis just to satisfy an agenda against zoos. These elephants will not be exploited as poster children for the animal rights movement.
We will be sending this petition to all of Toronto City Council and over 60+ media outlets. They have had access to all of the documented facts science and evidence for months months, they know the whole truth and now we want them to publish this. To share the whole story with the people of Toronto so that they can make an informed decision based on the facts. Not based on propaganda pumped out by high paid public relations companies and celebrity back animal rights groups - THE TRUTH! Below is a list of links to information, please educated and inform yourself before you sign random petitions. You can access the USDA documents, information on how city councillors misled their peers and the public and were spoon fed information by Zoocheck for the media and council and you can see that the facts and the science do not lie.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5WlBT7uQTbwNklSUUtrVnJvSVk/edit (USDA documents)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5WlBT7uQTbweFVZdUZsblpmQTA/edit (Calaveras Health Dept. documents – some documents pulled at 11th hour by CHD)

 https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5WlBT7uQTbwd2JsX0FpdWhTNjQ/edit (California State Health FOIA USDA documents)

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B5WlBT7uQTbwZk1qM2dQU1Z0b1k (City of Toronto submission to Councillors.3)
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5WlBT7uQTbwODhHdU1pcHVZdUU/edit (Zoocheck conflict of Interest)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5WlBT7uQTbwRWZfYkQ5LUhZNFU/edit (City of Toronto submission to Councillors.2)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5WlBT7uQTbwbnU5a3JBeG55ajQ/edit (ECI Current Technologies TB in elephants.pdf)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5WlBT7uQTbwLUJfT2xYVVVyZWs/edit (City Councillor Berardinetti collusion with Zoocheck Canada FOIA)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5WlBT7uQTbwWUVlYmFPUWQ1R3c/edit (FOIA Connections April 18.2012)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5WlBT7uQTbwVll4SnEwWEpJanM/edit (FOIA Connections April 27.2012)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5WlBT7uQTbwN3NUakcyWGNkbk0/edit 
( Zoocheck Canada writes motion/legislation for City Councillors)

 

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5WlBT7uQTbweTFuTTUtMk9ETWc/edit (Pat Derby responds to Dr. Michael Hutchins – shows Annie (TB+) in “Jacuzzi in African Barn)

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B5WlBT7uQTbwVUtIV3JkRXhYQ2s (PAWS elephant history document)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5WlBT7uQTbwRTBFcFAtakdfbTQ/edit (FOIA emails City Councillors collusion/conflict of interest with Zoocheck Canada)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5WlBT7uQTbwbEYwNUtJYVJTVFk/edit ( The Ruby Connection – Info on Ruby (deceased African ellie@PAWS no cause of death determined)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5WlBT7uQTbwQVJaMS03cllMTFU/edit 
(https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5WlBT7uQTbwdUlEdWt6MFAyUnc/edit (City councillor/Zoocheck Corespondence.4 Accessed via Freedom of Information)

 https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5WlBT7uQTbwdUlEdWt6MFAyUnc/edit ( City councillor/Zoocheck Corespondence.1 Accessed via Freedom of Information)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5WlBT7uQTbwajdYMldYYnBMUXM/edit (City councillor/Zoocheck Corespondence.2 Accessed via Freedom of Information)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5WlBT7uQTbwWEo1ZTN0V1NzcEU/edit (City councillor/Zoocheck Corespondence.3 Accessed via Freedom of Information)

www.save3elephants@blogspot.ca

https://www.facebook.com/groups/352417048117934/ Zoos Matter@Facebook

http://theagenda.tvo.org/blog/agenda-blogs/why-are-elephants-still-toronto-zoo-part-i (Part 1 of 5 in Series done by The Agenda/TVontario)

News Articles

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/04/26/zookeepers-fighting-elephant-walk

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1169783--bob-barker-threatens-to-pull-back-money-to-transfer-toronto-zoo-elephants

http://www.coveritlive.com/index2.php?option=com_altcaster&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=9235294ba8&ipod=y (Live Chat file from TVO’s The Agenda with arguments and commentary by Zoocheck Canada’s Julie Woodyer, PAWS supporters vs Toronto Zoo supporters, well worth the read)

 

Dear Citizens:
PLEASE GET INFORMED KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT TUBERCULOSIS@PAWS SANCTUARY BEFORE SIGNING PETITIONS

To Toronto City Council: You have all the scientific and documented facts and evidence - you must embrace the facts and do the right thing.

To Toronto Media and Beyond: You have all the evidence, 1000's and 1000's of hours worth of research, USDA documents data
and evidence. PLEASE share the whole truth with the people of this city. We are being bullied by big money machine celebrity backed animal rights organizations and you have the power to stop this, because you have the facts. Publish them. We have provided you with everything you need.


Over the last 12 months Zoocheck Canada and PAWS Sanctuary have engaged in a propaganda campaign against the Toronto Zoo regarding its elephants. Only one side of this story is being told, that of the animal rights activists. The other side of the story, supported by documented facts and science has been ignored in lieu of the anti zoo movement.  In May of 2011 the Toronto Zoo decided to phase out its African elephant exhibit. 7 AZA facilities offered homes. Over the course of the next 5 months the zoo assessed each facility and by the fall of 2011 was prepared to announce their choice, to send the elephants to The National Elephant Center which is now almost 100% complete. In a Motion without notice last October 2011 City Council overrode the zoo’s professional authority and decided to send our elephants to PAWS sanctuary instead. No research was done, no site visit had been conducted and no risk assessments had been evaluated, it was simply based on one report submitted by anti zoo organization Zoocheck and the word of three City Councillors. All of whom used their anti breeding ideologies to subsequently lobby against and malign The National Elephant Center. At 10:54pm in less than 7 minutes and without any information or facts from zoo wildlife veterinary professionals present this decision was made. 5 months was to long for the zoo to assess 7 facilities but 7 minutes was long enough to make a decision in favour of the sanctuary?  Over the course of the last 12 months concerned citizens have proven what was initially deemed as allegations and a witch-hunt that this sanctuary has had Tuberculosis related deaths (Sabu and Rebecca) and 3 more elephants exposed via Rebecca to TB. It is not fear mongering it is DOCUMENTED FACT! 2 of those elephants are now reactive to the STATPAK test which tests for antibodies to TB and one of those elephants Annie is now TB+.  PAWS is not some innocent victim in all of this, they have worked strategically and dishonestly with Zoocheck Canada and animal rights sympathizers for the last year to malign the Toronto Zoo and to DENY Tuberculosis at their sanctuary.  They vehemently and publically denied TB for months and accused zoo staff of insubordination and lying when the truth is the complete opposite. Those opposed to PAWS as a home for these elephants have presented nothing but facts and science and truths. We are not opposed to PAWS because it is a sanctuary we are opposed because they have tuberculosis and they were not honest about it. We are opposed because their bio security and disease prevention protocols have come under scrutiny based on literally 1000's of hours of research. PAWS knew about Sabu and Rebecca’s tissue culture reports indicating positive TB and that other elephants were exposed well before the council meeting last fall 2011, this is documented with FACTS. They withheld the truth about this because the zoo stated they would not send their elephants to a facility which had TB. The truth about TB was denied again and again by the sanctuary and by Zoocheck and this is also well documented in many news articles and supported with USDA documents. In fact the truth had to be dragged out of them when concerned citizens via Freedom of Information Acts proved the TB crisis existed with USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) documents. They went from saying "NO TB" to saying these animals arrived with TB to "ok some were exposed but only have antibodies" to ok Annie is now TB+. Just how did Rebecca go undiagnosed long enough to expose and infect 3 other elephants? It doesn't matter if you support zoos or you are against them, deliberately exposing the Toronto Zoo elephants to tuberculosis is unethical. If you care about true animal welfare then you will be willing to set your personal ideologies aside and do what is right for these individual elephants and that is not to send them to a facility which has TUBERCULOSIS, a facility which is willing to be dishonest about it to acquire these elephants at any cost. They still claim now that Sabu and Rebecca died from arthritis only despite the scientific evidence to the contrary. At what point do we embrace facts supported by documented science? How can we ignore scientific facts? The senior veterinarians of The Toronto Zoo do not back the plan to move the elephants to PAWS and have grave concerns over the sanctuary’s bio security. The National Elephant Centre can provide an amazing home for our elephants. Whether or not you are against elephants in zoos or breeding is irrelevant as these factors do not affect the welfare of our elephants or their quality of life if they are sent to live there. Is this about the elephant's happiness? Or the animal rights activist's happiness? They should be supporting TNEC as it will teach protected contact to AZA keepers as they phase out the use of guides/ankus by 2014. There will be room to roam, a warm climate and multi-generational family groups. Please do not let dogma and philosophies influence your decisions. PAWS cannot be the home for our elephants, they have active Tuberculosis and they cannot explain how it was transmitted throughout their Asian elephant populations. The African and Asians shared one barn for several years at PAWS (documented FACT) and the outdoor enclosures are just 36-56ft apart for a length of almost 500ft (documented FACT). The risks are too high. Would you send your pet to a facility which had parvo? Or let your kids play fifty feet away from a daycare with tuberculosis infected children? No you would not so what gives anyone the right to risk these elephant’s lives so as to cater to an anti captivity agenda?  The Toronto Zoo elephants are not poster children for the animal rights movement. This is not an anti sanctuary campaign it’s a pro Thika, Iringa and Toka campaign and an anti-tuberculosis campaign.  We just want the safest home for our elephants in a facility which is TB free and willing to be more transparent and honest. How can anyone claim to care about animal welfare but then be willing to risk these elephant’s lives?


Animal rights ideologies and activism should not supersede the true welfare of these elephants. If you are TRUE animal welfare activist you will set aside what is best for you and do what is best for these elephants and that is not to deliberately expose them to tuberculosis just to satisfy an agenda against zoos. These elephants will not be exploited as poster children for the animal rights movement. Our City Councillors and local news and television media have the facts, the evidence and the scientific data. They have had this information for months and months. And still the whole truth has yet to told.

































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