Leave elephants free

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*http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/story/468247p-394065c.html

*<http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/story/468247p-394065c.html>

*Keep elephants in captivity? No *

 

**

*A Bronx Zoo pachyderm can recognize itself in the mirror, we learned this

week. Zoo defenders and animal rights activists square off on letting Dumbos

go free *

 

*BY ELLIOT M. KATZ *

 

***News that elephants recognize themselves in a mirror and are thus

self-aware was trumpeted worldwide this week. Yet every day elephants

needlessly suffer in too-small zoo enclosures. *

 

*Elephants are intelligent and emotionally complex animals. They enjoy

exceptional longevity. In the wild, their families are tightly knit; mothers

and daughters stay together for life. They are active more than 16 hours a

day, exploring, socializing and caring for young, moving long distances (5

to 10 miles or more) in a complex and varied environment. *

 

*This is a far cry from life in a zoo, where cramped spaces, barren yards

and unnatural social groupings cause severe deprivation. A zoo elephant's

life, in essence, is waking up each morning to decide in which corner of the

yard to stand. *

 

*Captivity-induced health problems are epidemic. Painful arthritis and fatal

foot infections are common, a result of small enclosures that restrict

movement and hard surfaces like concrete. Obesity, infertility, high infant

mortality and neurotic behaviors are also common. Some zoo elephants are

maintained on a steady diet of painkillers that mask their symptoms until it

is too late. *

 

*Images of suffering elephants are difficult to forget. Take the National

Zoo's Toni, dead at age 39, leaning against her elephant companion to take

pressure off her aching, arthritic joints. Or Clara at the St. Louis Zoo,

constantly shifting her weight from one infected foot to the other to escape

the pain. *

 

*It's wrong to inflict such misery. Putting elephants on display in zoos

will not save them in their natural habitats. No captive-born elephant will

be returned to the wild. And as for education, people have seen elephants in

zoos for 200 years - yet elephants have been driven to the brink of

extinction. *

 

*Urban zoos simply do not have the space or resources to give elephants the

quality of life they deserve. Major institutions like the Bronx, Detroit,

San Francisco and Philadelphia zoos have closed or are phasing out their

elephant exhibits. But other zoos remain entrenched. *

 

*Elephants may have joined us in that exclusive group of species that

exhibit mirror self-recognition, but the inhumane treatment of elephants in

our nation's zoos is a poor reflection on our own intelligence and humanity.

*

 

*Katz is a veterinarian and president and founder of In Defense of Animals,

an animal rescue and advocacy organization based in San Rafael, Calif.

 

Originally published on November 5, 2006*