San Diego Zoo San Diego Zoo acquires two new elephants

I do not understand this plea-bargaining whereby 1 elephant gets left with the "unfit" owner. He would have wished for this elephant to join her 2 companions at SD-Zoo?

Does SD-Zoo have sufficient exhibit space to accomodate all three (extra) elephants on welfare grounds (seeing that SD-Zoo is never ever going to breed Asians in the medium term with only old age elephants in residence)?
 
Like others, I question WHY two were taken and one left behind. I can only speculate that the healthiest of the three is Queenie... and to get Davenport to cooperate... the USDA said he could keep her (hope it's only for a little while). The other part I *DID LIKE* is that Davenport lost his exhibitor's license and cannot use Queenie in any form of entertainment. So what it boils down to is that Queenie is officially a 'pet'.

But that's gives cause to worry too. USDA better visit Queenie every two weeks for welfare checks.
 
Offering facilities the option of settling out of
court instead of being officially charged with AWA
violations allows APHIS to resolve more cases in
less time and provides for greater flexibility in punitive
actions. In out-of-court settlements, part of the
agreement may include monetary fines being directed
toward facility improvements, employee training,
or donation to a nonprofit organization benefiting the
welfare of animals.

When an Administrative Law Judge imposes a
fine for AWA violations, all the money goes into the
U.S. Treasury, not animal welfare programs. Many
settlements state that the facility neither admits nor
denies violating the Act.

The Secretary of Agriculture has the authority
to confiscate from a regulated facility animals that
are suffering. Once APHIS has evidence of such a
situation, a notice of intent to confiscate is given to
the facility. If they fail to remedy the situation in a
short time, authorization is obtained from the APHIS
Administrator to confiscate the animals in question.
It is not uncommon for APHIS to negotiate with a
facility to surrender the animals directly to the outside
organization to simplify the progress.

Under its authority to confiscate suffering animals,
APHIS interprets “suffering” to mean the animal
was in any condition causing pain or distress
that is not alleviated.
 
ColumbusZoo001 said:
Does anyone know the origins of these elephants? I'm assuming they're not captive born but how did they get into the hands of this Texan?
Click to expand...

The Texan, Wilbur Davenport, I presume either owns a circus or associates with a circus. The elephants came from another circus (Clyde Beatty-Cole Brothers Circus). All were born in the wild. Here is some more information I found at the elephant database.

Jewel, an Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) at San Diego Zoo

From 2000 to 2003, Tina and Jewel were presented on the Cole Brothers Circus by Adam Hill. In 2004 and 2005 the Cole Brothers leased the girls to Adam and had no elephants of their own. During this time the two act was presented on the Walker Brothers Circus, the Cindy Migley Circus and different fairs.
Will Davenport acquried the elephants in January 2006, where he stayed for the spring and summer tour and presented the elephants on Cole, until spring 2007 they performed on the L.E. Barnes & Bailey Circus.

For the 2008 tour, Will Davenport presented his three elephants Tina, Jewel & Queenie on Circus Vasquez.

In the 2009 season, Will Davenport presented elephants on the main unit of the Hamid Circus, owned by himself. He displayed a three act with Boo, Tina & Jewel. Elephant rides were offered for $8/person before/after the show and during intermission, worked by all three elephants.

Hopefully this answers your question.
 
Thanks for the video....good to hear that Tina & Jewel are eating very well. Although I'm happy to know that they've been rescued, it's disappointing to see them within the confines of a zoo (bars and concrete). If this is a success story, then I can only hope the next chapter reads Queenie will join them very soon.
 
oh, they have a big outdoor habitat as well, this is just a holding area that they have to stay in right now because they are very sick (Concrete and bars are more sanitary for them at this point

Once there healthy, they'll have 2.5 acres to roam with 7 other elephants
 
Lots of good info posted by everyone, including SD video link - thanks to all. This week I got a letter from a senior official (whom I won't name) at San Diego Zoo resonding to a letter I sent them criticizing Elephant Odyssey. This official stated that the goal of Elephant Odyssey was to provide a care center for aging elephants and NOT to create a naturalistic habitat. Although I strongly disagree with the decision to go non-naturalistic, it is good that they now have a large care center and can take in animals like these two new elephants. Certainly no one questions the care that San Diego elephants will receive.

BTW I will be at SD Zoo on Labor Day (9am-9pm), so watch for more photos shortly thereafter.
 
Arizona Docent said:
Lots of good info posted by everyone, including SD video link - thanks to all. This week I got a letter from a senior official (whom I won't name) at San Diego Zoo resonding to a letter I sent them criticizing Elephant Odyssey. This official stated that the goal of Elephant Odyssey was to provide a care center for aging elephants and NOT to create a naturalistic habitat.[\QUOTE]

I didn't think those two things were mutually exclusive.
Click to expand...
 
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