RESPONSE TO NATIONAL ZOO RESPONSE TO CONCERNS ABOUT TONI

        “As a scientist who has studied elephant behavior and communication among free-living individuals for 30 years, I am stunned that the American Zoo and Aquarium Association is not able to perceive the empirical evidence that elephants need much more space than what is currently allotted to them. In the form of routine problems captive elephant managers face every day, the evidence is unmistakable: foot diseases, arthritis, weight related diseases, infertility, heightened aggression, and other neurotic behavior.”
         -Joyce Poole, Ph.D., Research Director, Amboseli Elephant Research Group, Kenya

"No captive situation, however attractive it may appear to a human, can possibly be adequate for the needs of an elephant in terms of space. An example is our 10 year old bull, Imenti, who walked 84 miles in 14 hours, turned round and walked back 100 miles in search of a friend. Even Tsavo, which is 8,000 square miles in extent, can be traversed by elephants in a matter of days - and is"
- Dr. Daphne Sheldrick D.V.M., M.B.E., M.B.S., 1992 UNEP Global 500 Laureate, has worked with elephants for 50 years, both in a wild and captive situations, and is considered one of the leading authorities on the African elephant 

The National Zoo has acknowledged the deficiency of its current exhibit, and is planning to expand its facilities. But unless its plans include a large preserve of hundreds to thousands of acres in a climate suitable for elephants, it will be proceeding without scientific basis and ignoring the science that does exist about the vast spatial needs of this wide-ranging species. 


CLAIM 2: THE NATIONAL ZOO’S ELEPHANT EXPANSION WILL MEET THE NEEDS OF ELEPHANTS. 

National Zoo director John Berry has stated that original plans for a 2.6 acre elephant expansion have been sent back to the drawing board for a facility 2-3 times the size. This is an important first step. But the zoo needs far more than 6-9 acres for space sufficient to allow elephants to walk, exercise and socialize in the manner to which they have evolved. Furthermore, it is unlikely that Toni will live to see the benefits of an expansion to the exhibit. Toni’s situation is urgent and needs to be addressed immediately. 


CLAIM 3: HAVING ASIAN ELEPHANTS AT THE NATIONAL ZOO IS IMPORTANT TO CONSERVATION. 

Unfortunately, breeding elephants at the National Zoo has nothing to do with conserving the species in the wild. What threatens wild elephants is not inability to breed, but rather poaching and loss of habitat in Asia and Africa. No elephants bred at the National Zoo will be repatriated to the wild. True conservation involves habitat protection and support for anti-poaching patrols. Many conservationists in range countries believe that zoos exhibiting elephants actually have a negative impact on survival of the elephant species. 

"Western zoos claim their breeding programs will save the endangered Asian elephant but nothing could be further from the truth. Captivity does not equal conservation. . . . The best way for these zoos . . . to assist with the future conservation of this species is to support field conservation programs in Asia." 
        - Vivek Menon, executive director of the Wildlife Trust of India:

The National Zoo’s support for conservation programs in range countries is to be commended but not confused with its elephant exhibit, which does not promote conservation.


CLAIM 4: MOVING TONI FROM THE NATIONAL ZOO WOULD BE DETRIMENTAL TO HER HEALTH. 

The National Zoo did good work in helping Toni recover from her early history as a lone elephant in a small Pennsylvania zoo. The Zoo is providing the best care it knows how for Toni, but the unfortunate truth is that it can only treat Toni’s symptoms. The Zoo can do nothing about the underlying cause of Toni’s illness unless it moves her to a sanctuary. 

The Elephant Sanctuary (TES ) in Tennessee has experience in restoring quality of life to elephants debilitated from years of intense confinement in zoos or circuses. Rather than suffering damage to their physical and mental health, these elephants have enjoyed a second chance at life. Some examples: 

· Bunny, 53, arrived in 1999 with foot problems; today her nickname is "Nature Girl" because she returns to the barn to sleep only in the coldest weather. 

· Jenny, 33, came to TES in 1996 with a crippling leg injury, arthritis and chronic foot rot. Today there is no mountain too high, no terrain too rough for Jenny to master. 

· TES expected to provide hospice care for Delhi, 59, who arrived in 2003 with osteomyelitis, a debilitating foot disease. Today Delhi explores TES like an elephant half her age.

TES is set on 2,700 lush green acres in southwestern Tennessee. There, Toni would be free to walk as much as she wants on hills, dirt and grasses. TES would treat her pain, but Toni's free-ranging movement would help ease her arthritis naturally. TES is USDA-approved and offers high-quality veterinary and keeper care. Unlike zoos, where staff clocks out at the end of the day, leaving elephants and other animals alone overnight, TES provides daily 24-hour, round—the—clock care and monitoring of elephants. 


CLAIM 5: REMOVING TONI FROM HER ELEPHANT FAMILY WOULD BE DETRIMENTAL.

Toni is not integrated with all the elephants at the zoo; in fact, she shares space with only one of them: Ambika. If the National Zoo is concerned about separating this elephant pair, then it could send both to TES, thus giving Toni a second chance at life and pre-empting the zoo-induced afflictions that Ambika is sure to suffer as the years wear on at the Zoo.


CLAIM 6: TONI BENEFITS FROM HER CURRENT ENVIRONMENT WHERE VET TEAMS MONITOR HER THROUGHOUT THE DAY.

Toni’s current environment of compacted earth and concrete caused her original problems. No matter how good the veterinary care at the Zoo, keeping Toni in these conditions is a certain death sentence. It will be unconscionable for the zoo to continue to ignore
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