Alert

(November 2, 2009)–Today marks the second anniversary of the death of Alport, a 49-year old elephant at San Antonio Zoo in Texas. Alport’s passing left Lucky, a 42-year old Asian elephant, alone, an extremely cruel situation for this highly social species. For two years, San Antonio Zoo Director Steve McCusker has resisted calls to send Lucky to a sanctuary, sentencing her to solitary confinement in a tiny and decrepit exhibit. McCusker refuses to send Lucky to better conditions even though she has no place in the zoo’s long-term plans. The zoo intends to build a new exhibit to house African elephants, and will send Lucky and an Asian elephant companion it is trying to acquire away to destinations unknown when the new exhibit opens.

To mark the anniversary of Lucky's two years alone, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) has issued a hard-hitting report detailing the woefully inadequate conditions in which Lucky and other animals at San Antonio Zoo are forced to live. Tonight, the ZCTF and Voices for Animals will hold a candlelight vigil at the zoo to remember Alport and to call attention to Lucky's sad and lonely existence.

Also today, IDA filed a complaint with the USDA charging that the San Antonio Zoo’s elephant plans and program violate the federal Animal Welfare Act.

IDA is asking the USDA to compel the San Antonio Zoo to send Lucky to a sanctuary and to bar the zoo from acquiring any new Asian elephants, who will then be dispensed of like pieces of used furniture once the new African exhibit is opened. IDA's complaint calls attention to Lucky's obvious psychological stress, as exhibited by pronounced stereotypic behavior, and to the Zoo's squalid exhibit, which lacks shade, frequently has contaminated water, and into which the public frequently tosses food and garbage.

What You Can Do:

Contact the USDA today and urge the agency to hold the San Antonio Zoo accountable for holding Lucky in solitary confinement for two years and for failing to provide safe, adequate and humane conditions. Ask the agency to compel the zoo to send Lucky to a more appropriate facility and to bar the zoo from accepting any additional Asian elephants, who will be shipped off to destinations unknown once the zoo’s new African elephant exhibit is constructed.

Please contact these USDA officials:

Acting APHIS Administrator Kevin Shea
Email: Kevin.A.Shea@usda.gov
Phone: 202-720-3861
Fax: (202) 720-3982

Dr. Robert Gibbens
Western Region Supervisor, APHIS/Animal Care
Email: Robert.M.Gibbens@aphis.usda.gov
Tel: (970) 494-7478
Fax: (970) 494-7461