Stop the import of Asian elephants for Kyoto City Zoo, Japan

The Kyoto City Zoo is planning to import three Asian elephants from Laos. We would like to express our strong opposition to this import.

Elephants are highly social, extremely intelligent, wide-ranging animals, so this makes the housing and management of elephants in captivity exceptionally difficult. In fact, many zoos have given up elephant keeping because of the challenges these animals pose and the enormous expense involved in keeping them.

The zoo is planning to construct a new elephant enclosure, and that it will be approximately 6,500 m² in size. This is just 1.6 acres, far too small a space for 1 elephant, let alone 4 elephants. The needs of the elephants will not be met and they will end up suffering as a result.