June Newsletter from Friends of Philly Zoo Elephants

"Free Dulary" Campaign Details

After nearly two years of public outreach by the Friends of Philly Zoo Elephants, Dulary moved to the Elephant Sanctuary on May 1, 2007.

Dulary is now "living large" at The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee on 2,200 acres with seven other elephants. Please visit her online diary at the Sanctuary's website here: Dulary's Diary

Here is a summary of the Friends of Philly Zoo Elephants' efforts to help Dulary and the other Philadelphia Zoo elephants Kallie, Bette and Petal:

April 2005: After learning the Philadelphia Zoo planned to expand its elephant exhibit to 2.5 acres to house seven elephants at a cost of $22 million, concerned local citizens gather at the Philly Zoo to educate the public on the needs of elephants and why the Philadelphia Zoo's planned expansion would be outdated before it was even built.

Philadelphia Zoo employees Kim Lengel (assistant curator) and Gretchen Toner (public relations) accompany several concerned citizens through the elephant exhibit. Among other things, Ms. Lengel and Ms. Toner claim that rubber flooring will be installed on the cement barn floor within a few months.  (Note: Months later, Philadelphia Zoo officials claimed an "expert" examined the elephants and told the zoo that rubber flooring was not necessary. A copy of the "expert's" report was requested but the Philadelphia Zoo refused to provide it. The concerned citizens also requested copies of the elephants' medical records, but the Philadelphia Zoo refused to provide those as well.)

August 30, 2005: Dulary is injured by the African elephant Bette and secluded in a stall in the 1,800 square foot cement barn (total barn space equals approximately six parking spaces, which is shared by all four elephants). The Philadelphia Zoo does not announce Dulary's injury.

September 2005: Concerned local citizens visit the zoo several times a week and notice Dulary is never outside, although the African elephants are outside every day. The Zoo provides various, conflicting reasons for her absence. The concerned citizens form the group "Friends of Philly Zoo Elephants" (FPZE).

September 27, 2005: FPZE files a complaint with the USDA requesting an investigation of Dulary's injury. The USDA sends a form letter response.

Early October 2005: FPZE places "Missing" newspaper ads offering a $500 reward for information about Dulary and plaster posters around the city announcing the reward offer.

Mid- October 2005: The Philadelphia Zoo publicly announces Dulary's injury. Despite repeated requests from FPZE and the media, no third party is allowed to see Dulary.

October 2005: * * * The Elephant Sanctuary offers to take Dulary at no charge to the Zoo, including free transportation * * *.

October 28, 2005: The Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Zoo announces that plans to expand the elephant exhibit are indefinitely postponed.

November 20, 2005: FPZE members continue to regularly visit the Zoo to check on the elephants.  On this date, near closing time, they see Dulary outside for the first time since summer. A sign near the elephant exhibit states "Our Asian elephant is inside recuperating from minor surgery. When she is fully recovered, she will be back outside." Dulary appears thin and depressed.

December 15, 2005:   Because the Philadelphia Zoo receives major financial support from the city of Philadelphia in the form of free rent, free water and trash services, and millions of dollars in capital contributions, FPZE decides to contact city officials to ask for their help with the elephants. On this date, FPZE members, including an elephant in costume, attend a Philadelphia City Council meeting to solicit the Councilmembers' help with Dulary and the other Philadelphia Zoo elephants. James Kenney and Blondell Reynolds Brown, among others, express interest in the elephants' plight. In the coming weeks, FPZE members meet with most of the councilmembers or their aides to discuss the elephants' dire situation. (Note: The Philadelphia Zoo also receives millions of dollars of support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. FPZE also contacted Governor Rendell, but he deferred his response to Eastern Region Director Joseph Certaine, who very disappointingly declined to meet with FPZE or help the elephants. Some FPZE members also met with their state senators, including Edwin Erickson, who at least listened to the group's concerns.)

Winter 2005: FPZE continues to hold weekly outreach events throughout Philadelphia to educate the public on the elephants' plight and to gather signatures on a petition in support of sending all four elephants to sanctuaries and closing the exhibit. In December 2005, Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Kera Ritter attends one of the activists' outreach events at the Gallery in Center City and reports on the public's reaction to the issue. Philadelphia resident Pat Gaynor says, "I thought it was good for the city for them to be here. But it's more humane for them to be at the sanctuary" while South Philadelphia resident Pamela Screen says, "I have a hard time seeing [elephants] at the zoo now. I don't think they have enough space here." (Kera Ritter, Petition Seeks Sanctuary for Phila. Zoo Elephants, Philadelphia Inquirer, December 19, 2005 at B8).

January 24, 2006: For the first time since November, FPZE observes Dulary outside - alone, very thin and depressed. Watch video footage taken of Dulary on this date here.

February 2, 2006: Concerned about Dulary's deteriorating condition, FPZE files a request for investigation with the USDA. The USDA sends a form letter response.

February 2006: The Philadelphia Zoo bans a FPZE member from the zoo allegedly based on chat group posts about the zoo's director. Philadelphia Zoo staff had been secretly monitoring the chat group posts for over six months. Gretchen Toner, Vice President of Communications, threatens to ban other members of the group from the Zoo if the Zoo finds out their names. (Note: Philadelphia Zoo officials claimed they had filed a police report based on the banned member's remarks, and that the member was banned "pending a police investigation," but in fact the police report the Philadelphia Zoo filed did not contain any statements made by the banned member, and the complaint was an incident report simply documenting the Philadelphia Zoo's allegations and never involved an "investigation.")

February 27, 2006: Best-selling author (Marley and Me) and Philadelphia Inquirer columnist John Grogan weighs in on the elephant issue in his column titled "Zoo Hysteria as High as an Elephant's Eye."

Feb. 27--It might be easy to write off as a nutty extremist Marianne Bessey, the animal-rights activist who has been banned from the Philadelphia Zoo.
Easy, that is, until you look into the eyes of the giant, majestic beasts she so zealously -- some might say hysterically -- champions.
Until you look into the eyes of a captive elephant.
There is something there. Something more than docile existence. There is intelligence, fierce intelligence. No question about it. Even the zoo's own Web site notes the animal's innate smarts. Is it my imagination, or is there also sadness in those eyes?
Sadness and longing?
Bessey thinks there is, and she has become obsessed with helping the zoo's four elephants... .

March 9, 2006: The Philadelphia Daily News publishes this letter from city councilman James Kenney:

THE PHILADELPHIA Zoo has long been one of our most valued treasures. Home to more than 1,500 animals, many rare and endangered in the wild, the zoo prides itself on conservation and education.

Recently, however, issues concerning the well-being of the zoo's four elephants have surfaced. One is in respect to the amount of space dedicated to the elephants. The other is the incident of the 41-year-old female Asian elephant named Dulary being kept separate from the other elephants since August after an injury to her eye during an altercation with one of the zoo's African elephants.

Both of these concerns are validated by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association's accreditation guide. The AZA insists that zoos should make every effort to maintain elephants in social groupings. The guide also says that Asian and African elephants should not be integrated into the same herd due for health and behavioral reasons.

I have also learned about elephant sanctuaries, in particular the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. I am impressed by the sanctuary's climate, space and specialized care.

As these elephant issues have attracted public attention, the zoo has positioned itself as the victim by being extremely defensive and by mischaracterizing a passionate person's pleas as threats.

It is time for the zoo to recognize that elephant care standards have changed. Wouldn't it be great to give the elephants a retirement party for all of their years serving our city and region? The party could also be a fund-raiser for the zoo, accompanied by penny-drives and corporate donations.

The zoo can transfer the elephants to the Elephant Sanctuary free of charge and maintain AZA accreditation. I'm sure the zoo and sanctuary could even create a partnership to include communication on the elephants' health and well-being.

It would also be great to include an exhibit where Philadelphia Zoo visitors could watch the elephants in the sanctuary on a live telecast.

James F. Kenney
Philadelphia City Councilman

March 2006: The Philadelphia Zoo continues to claim publicly that it has not made any decisions regarding the elephants - "all options are on the table," including keeping the elephants in the same quarter-acre enclosure. In a document dated March 17, 2006, AZA representative Mark Green states the Philadelphia Zoo has already decided to move its elephants to another facility. FPZE publicly releases the AZA statement in early April.

Mid-March 2006: Concerned about the Philadelphia Zoo's threats to ban additional members from visiting the zoo, FPZE hires a group of local citizens to visit the zoo undercover to monitor the elephants and names them the "Ele's Angels". The Ele's Angels are area residents hired by FPZE to visit the Zoo and monitor the elephants. The Ele's Angels responded to an ad FPZE posted on Craig's List and had no prior affiliation with FPZE. They are paid $15 per zoo visit and visited the Zoo approximately twice a week at varying times of day. They report their observations and impressions of the elephants. The Ele's Angels also take photos of the elephants. The visits and photos can be viewed on the FPZE website at the "Calendar" and "Photos" pages.

March 29, 2006: On FPZE's behalf, the Washington DC law firm Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal sends Philadelphia Zoo legal notice of violation of the Endangered Species Act based on the Zoo's harmful treatment of Dulary. Excerpt of the letter:

As detailed in this letter, the Philadelphia Zoo is violating the ESA's prohibition on the "take" of endangered species by confining Dulary in a concrete barn since August 2005, providing her little access to outdoor exercise, and absolutely no direct interaction with any Asian elephants. Confining Dulary in this manner has had a visible impact on Dulary's well-being, and, thus, both "harm[s]" and "harass[es]" Dulary within the meaning of the ESA, and is inconsistent with the Animal Welfare Act, 7 U.S.C. �� 2131-2159, as well as accepted husbandry guidelines for elephants established by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. Guide to Accreditation of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (2006) ("AZA Guidelines").

Spring 2006: FPZE continues weekly outreach events at the Philadelphia Zoo and other locations around the city to educate the public on the elephants' plight and gather signatures on a petition supporting sending all four elephants to sanctuaries and closing the exhibit. FPZE also launches a postcard campaign with the assistance of In Defense of Animals (IDA), generating hundreds of postcards to Philadelphia City Councilmembers in support of passing a resolution to send the elephants to a sanctuary immediately.

Mid-April 2006: The Zoo announces Dulary will be moved, but does not disclose when or where. The Zoo begins allowing Dulary outside for a few hours each day.

June 8, 2006: FPZE, including an elephant in costume, attends a Philadelphia City Council meeting to deliver petitions with over 5,000 signatures in support of sending Philly Zoo elephants to a sanctuary.

Summer 2006: FPZE continues weekly outreach at the Philadelphia Zoo and other locations around the city to educate the public and gather signatures on a petition supporting sending all four elephants to sanctuaries and closing the exhibit. See photo here.

October 5, 2006: The Philadelphia Zoo announces that Dulary will be moved to The Elephant Sanctuary and Petal, Kallie and Bette will be moved to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. Both moves are to occur by Spring 2006.

November 2006: FPZE visits the Maryland Zoo and meets with the elephant keepers. See a photo of the Maryland Zoo's current elephant exhibit here.

December 2006: FPZE purchases produce for the elephants as holiday treats, including watermelon, grapes, broccoli, oranges, and apples (see photo here.)

January 2007: FPZE purchases two toys from Otto Environmentalto help the elephants make it through their last winter in the Philly cement barn. See a photo of Kallie and Bette playing with one of the toys here.

February 2007: FPZE purchases over $100.00 worth of watermelons as Valentines Day treats for the elephants.

March 2007: The Philadelphia Zoo announces that the Maryland Zoo will not accept Kallie, Bette and Petal because of lack of funding to expand the elephant exhibit. FPZE contacts the PAWS sanctuary in California, who graciously offers to accept all three African elephants. Please read more about the wonderful lifetime home PAWS would provide here.

April 2007: The Philadelphia Zoo announces Petal, Kallie and Bette will be moved to a breeding facility near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

May 2007: Dulary moves to her forever home at The Elephant Sanctuary. Petal, Kallie, and Bette remain in their quarter-acre enclosure, but spend most of their time in 1,800 square foot cement barn at the Philadelphia Zoo. They are scheduled to move to the Pittsburgh breeding facility in the fall.