Emmylou Harris' Open Letter to Dallas + Jenny Billboards (attached). Cross Post Please

[Guest guest]

EmmyLou Harris Sends an Open Letter to the Citizens of Dallas

April 15, 2009 Press Conference

 

The appropriateness of elephants living in zoos has become a national grassroots discussion and a cause célèbre for more than solely animal welfare activists. Since May, 2008, thousands of ordinary Dallas citizens have contacted the City of Dallas urging the zoo to retire Jenny to The Elephant Sanctuary (TES) in Tennessee. Jenny’s plight continues to stir Dallas citizenry to action.

 

Within the last week, several celebrities joined the ranks of Jenny advocates, including:

 

Ms. Ruth Buzzi, Laugh-in Star and creator of the famed character Gladys Ormphby. Ms. Buzzi will attend the April 15, 2009 press conference

Mr. Kinky Friedman, Texas icon and 2006 candidate for governor, who as an independent garnered a highly credible 12.6% of the vote

Ms. Emmylou Harris, beloved and innovative county music artist and Grammy winner. Emmylou has been called by Billboard Magazine a "truly venturesome, genre-transcending pathfinder."

 

Today, Ms. Harris wrote an open letter to the people of Dallas in which she states,

 

“Jenny the elephant has led a tragic life and my heart just breaks for her … I understand Dallas citizens can vote on May 9th for new City Council candidates … I love Dallas and have high regard for its people whom I believe will do the right thing and insist the City of Dallas immediately retire Jenny to the Elephant Sanctuary.â€

 

A copy of Ms. Harris’ complete letter will be available on April 14, 2009 and distributed at:

 

Concerned Citizens for Jenny News Conference with Ms. Ruth Buzzi

Wednesday, April 15, 2009, Noon to 1 PM

At the Dallas Zoo, on the lawn next to the Giraffe statue

 

 

 

Now, Jenny has become a City of Dallas election issue. Concerned Citizens for Jenny (CCFJ), who does not endorse any candidate, has interviewed as many candidates running for City Council as possible and reported the results of this research on www.SaveJennyNow.com.

 

This week, CCFJ purchased six bill boards in Dallas to enlighten the public. A list of locations with the news release is attached locations of billboards.

 

In 2008, the Dallas Zoo finally admitted that it has kept Jenny in an antiquated and inadequate enclosure for 22 years. The Zoo now plans a 3.75 acre elephant exhibit that again will not meet Jenny’s needs or that of the six other elephants the zoo plans to cram into this space. To remain healthy, elephants must walk many miles a day, not simply a few feet, which is all Jenny and the other elephants will have in the new exhibit. The only modestly expanded exhibit will not be completed until 2010 so for yet another year, Jenny will languish her life away on less than ¼ acre.

 

CCFJ advocates for the reasonable option of retiring Jenny now to The Elephant Sanctuary, which will cost the City of Dallas nothing and will save the citizens of Dallas many millions of dollars.

 

In today’s hard economic times when Dallas is in an unprecedented budget crisis and the tax base is shrinking, it is fiscally irresponsible for the City of Dallas to spend $27 million tax dollars on an elephant exhibit that does not meet the needs of elephants. It would be more financially prudent to direct this money to street repair, sanitation, neighborhood parks, after-school programs, the police and fire departments, and city services that produce jobs.

 

In December, 2008, a peer-reviewed, statistically valid study in the renowned journal Science found that zoos may be the least safe place in the world for elephants. The study of 4,500 elephants concluded that elephants in the wild live up to three times longer than in zoos, even though elephants in zoos live predator-free and receive regular veterinary care and a steady source of food.

 

Throught 2008, Jenny’s tragic situation drew the attention of many outstanding individuals in the fields of elephant science, entertainment, politics, and animal advocacy, each of them pleading Jenny's case for retirement to The Elephant Sanctuary. Amon these are:

 

Wayne Pacelle, President of the Humane Society of the United States

Will Travers, Chief Executive Officer of Born Free USA, who likened Jenny’s antiquated enclosure at the Dallas Zoo to more like a “prison cell†than an elephant enclosure.

Joyce Poole, PhD, Director of the research of the conservation group, Elephant Voices; and Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Amboseli Elephant Research Project (Kenya), the world’s longest-running study of elephant ecology and behavior under natural conditions.

Bea Arthur, beloved comedienne and actor

Lily Tomlin, American icon, comedienne, and winner of the Emmy, Tony, Peabody, and Grammy awards, and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

###

 

 

2 of 2 File(s)

 

 

 

 

 

N374520090415093136.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

Jenny_BillboardLocations.xls