Retire Seattle Zoo's Elephants to a Sanctuary
- by: Retire WPZ Elephants Now
- recipient: Seattle City Council
Bamboo, Chai, and Watoto are elephants living at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington. As a new Seattle Times expose, Glamour Beasts, uncovers, the elephants have suffered immense physical and psychological harm for decades and need to be retired to a sanctuary. In the winter they spend most of the day locked up in a small barn where they barely have enough room to turn around. The little time they get outdoors is spent circling the perimeters of small, barren enclosures. All elephants have suffered physical torture over the years by their handlers. Chai has suffered 112 insemination attempts and the death of Hansa - her baby Elephant who died of the Herpes virus contracted from her mother Chai. Even though any offspring Chai has will likely contract and die from Herpes because she still has the Herpes virus, the zoo keeps trying to get her pregnant because a baby elephant means big ticket sales. Woodland Park Zoo doesn't have the space to properly care for elephants. The elephants have suffered enough.
Seattle City Council is responsible for the elephants through their contract with the Woodland Park Zoological Society. Sign this petition and tell Seattle City Council to retire the elephants to a sanctuary where they can live out what little is left of their lives free from suffering.
Dear Seattle City Council,
The elephants at Woodland Park Zoo (Bamboo, Chai, and Watoto) are your responsibility. You fund and administer that responsibility through a contract you hold with the Woodland Park Zoological Society. With Michael Berens scathing Seattle Times expose, "Glamour Beasts" , there can be no doubt that the elephants are suffering unimaginable harm and have been doing so for decades. For this, the Seattle City Council must take responsibility and act with all of their authority to take back control of the elephants’ welfare and create a pathway for retirement to a sanctuary.
Have you visited the elephants? During Seattle's cold, rainy season, most of the elephants’ days are spent inside a small barn where they can barely turn around and are horribly under-stimulated. Outdoor time is limited to pacing the perimeter of small, barren enclosures often in isolation from each other. In turn, the elephants are, by expert assessment, suffering severe physical and psychological harm. Add to this the documented beating, chaining, and other malicious practices by handlers to "control" the elephants. And, if this wasn't enough the zoo's unyielding attempts to impregnate Chai who has suffered through 112 insemination attempts to fulfill the zoo's lust for a baby elephant and the money it will bring even though they know that any baby she has will meet the same fate as baby Hansa who died from the Herpes virus which she contracted from her mother Chai who still carries the virus.
The time has come for the Seattle City Council to take control of the elephant's situation at the zoo. There will never be enough space for Bamboo, Chai, and Watoto to live a quality life at Woodland Park Zoo. Their suffering can only be remedied by acknowledging this and taking action to retire the elephants to a sanctuary.
Bamboo, Chai, and Watoto are your responsibility. They have suffered greatly and unnecessarily. I urge you to act quickly and, with all of the authority you have, to take control of the situation for the elephants and clear a pathway for them to retire to a sanctuary now!
Sincerely,
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