"Worst Zoos for Elephants" 2023

StoppableSan

StoppableSan

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
The annual brainrot has been published, and to save everyone a click:

1. LA Zoo, *you bet it's about Billy. Plus pretentious and elitist grandstanding from out of touch celebs.*
2. Houston Zoo, *prolific breeding*. Oh the horror, building up a multigenerational herd of elephants to mirror conditions in the wild. :eek::rolleyes:
3. ABQ Biopark, Albert's kept separate from the rest of the herd, apparently stressed due to traffic. Also EEHV deaths. (Which are out of the zoos' control and also occur in wild populations, but we don't care about facts here, just these poor, miserable creatures. Gerald Durrell'd absolutely mop the floor with IDA and then some - the arguments he made in The Stationary Ark do address and poke holes at the points that anti-caps usually espouse in a genuinely salient way, I'll have to see which specific pages again).
4. Denver Zoo, *turning bulls into BULLIES*. (This is just so, so stupid. Bachelor groups occur in the wild, do these absolute lemmings have ANY idea how elephants operate?)
5. Kansas City Zoo, Tamani being used for AI. Which is a VOLUNTARY PROCEDURE that he doesn't have to participate in, and worst comes to worst, he doesn't get the positive reinforcement reward, AKA a treat that he could get later in the day for another veterinary procedure.
6. Dallas Zoo, "squeezed into a sterile environment..." which was actually COMMENDED when it first opened by these elitists? Oh the brainrot... oh my nerves.
7. Oklahoma City Zoo, Bowie had EEHV, yada yada send the bulls to a sanctuary, "followed by the females". This pretentious, smarmy writing is just... so irritating.
8. Saint Louis Zoo, Raja's kept alone. (Even though BULLS ARE USUALLY SOLITARY BY NATURE WHEN NOT IN A MATRIARCHAL OR BACHELOR HERD - ahh whatever.)
9. ZooTampa, "STOLEN FROM THE WILD" (even though they would have been killed had they STAYED in the wild.)
10. Oregon Zoo, "BULLS BEHIND BARS"... I don't even know what to say about this.

"DISHONORABLE MENTIONS"
11. Jacksonville Zoo... do they even make any salient points here? Some unfortunate history about some of the elephants, the zoo's job *is to do right* by their elephants.
12. Zoo Miami, Ongard. Just... just make it stop.

If anyone wants to read further... don't say I didn't warn you.

10 Worst Zoos for Elephants 2023
 
Last edited:
StoppableSan said:
1. LA Zoo, *you bet it's about Billy. Plus pretentious and elitist grandstanding from out of touch celebs.*
2. Houston Zoo, *prolific breeding*. Oh the horror, building up a multigenerational herd of elephants to mirror conditions in the wild. :eek::rolleyes:
3. ABQ Biopark, Albert's kept separate from the rest of the herd, apparently stressed due to traffic. Also EEHV deaths. (Which are out of the zoos' control and also occur in wild populations, but we don't care about facts here, just these poor, miserable creatures. Gerald Durrell'd absolutely mop the floor with IDA and then some - the arguments he made in The Stationary Ark do address and poke holes at the points that anti-caps usually espouse in a genuinely salient way, I'll have to see which specific pages again).
4. Denver Zoo, *turning bulls into BULLIES*. (This is just so, so stupid. Bachelor groups occur in the wild, do these absolute lemmings have ANY idea how elephants operate?)
5. Kansas City Zoo, Tamani being used for AI. Which is a VOLUNTARY PROCEDURE that he doesn't have to participate in, and worst comes to worst, he doesn't get the positive reinforcement reward, AKA a treat that he could get later in the day for another veterinary procedure.
6. Dallas Zoo, "squeezed into a sterile environment..." which was actually COMMENDED when it first opened by these elitists? Oh the brainrot... oh my nerves.
7. Oklahoma City Zoo, Bowie had EEHV, yada yada send the bulls to a sanctuary, "followed by the females". This pretentious, smarmy writing is just... so irritating.
8. Saint Louis Zoo, Raja's kept alone. (Even though BULLS ARE USUALLY SOLITARY BY NATURE WHEN NOT IN A MATRIARCHAL OR BACHELOR HERD - ahh whatever.)
9. ZooTampa, "STOLEN FROM THE WILD" (even though they would have been killed had they STAYED in the wild.)
10. Oregon Zoo, "BULLS BEHIND BARS"... I don't even know what to say about this.

"DISHONORABLE MENTIONS"
11. Jacksonville Zoo... do they even make any salient points here? Some unfortunate history about some of the elephants, the zoo's job *is to do right* by their elephants.
12. Zoo Miami, Ongard. Just... just make it stop.

If anyone wants to read further... don't say I didn't warn you.
Click to expand...
Los Angeles had nothing but bad press related to elephants this year, so it doesn't surprise me at all they made an appearance on this list, probably the most predictable thing to happen on this list.

To echo @Mr.Ivory, I too am always angered when some of the genuine worst facilities (e.g., Natural Bridge) aren't included on these lists. Pressure from ARAs, along with other factors, caused a lot of AZA zoos to clean up their act with elephants, as even 15-20 years ago there were plenty of legitimately horrible elephant exhibits that now thankfully don't exist.

Looking at the 2004 list, it includes a number of zoos which have stopped their elephant programs (e.g., Lincoln Park, Philadelphia, Alaska), and also include some zoos which have since built new, state-of-the-art exhibits (e.g., Smithsonian National, Houston, Los Angeles). At this point, the lists have become riddled with inconsistencies and logical fallacies- because they no longer are pressuring genuinely bad elephant programs like they did in the past.

Furthermore, one of the things that confuses me the most is singling out individual zoos for what many other zoos do as well:
  • Why is Houston Zoo condemned for "prolific breeding" if Omaha and Sedgwick County get no mention?
  • Why is Kansas City condemned for collecting AI samples if Denver and Sedgwick County get no mention?
It'd be one thing if this was a list that came from a perspective we disagree with but contains logical thinking, but there is no sign of logical thinking in sight for this post.

If this group wanted to regain any credibility of legitimately caring about elephants, then every year the top of the list would be as follows (in any order):
1. Natural Bridge Zoo
2. Edmonton Valley Zoo
3. Myrtle Beach Safari
 
There is no way in the history of the world that Denver Zoo can be the 4th worst zoo for elephants! Fifteen years ago it would easily be understood because their exhibit was bad back then, but look at them now, what could they have done for this to happen now?
 
Part of what confuses me with these lists is that they keep talking about how animals aren't being kept in truly natural situations, like keeping males separated due to the aggression of musth, or forced breeding. But what would they want to have happen if the elephants were all moved to sanctuaries?

Would the elephants still be allowed to breed, or would they use some method to prevent that? Preventing breeding would be 'unnatural,' but allowing them to breed would mean bringing more elephants into the world that will never be released into the wild. And a sanctuary is still smaller than the wild, so what if the elephants kill one another during musth? Would that be 'natural' or would that be the kind of behavior they'd condemn if it happened in a zoo?
 
Mr.Ivory said:
I do wonder what Natural Bridge did to be off the list these past few years
Click to expand...
Well, Natural Bridge's existence as an elephant holder (or even a zoo itself) kind of hangs in the balance right now. Most of their animals have been seized due to how crummy conditions there are and the zoo might close for good. Asha the elephant was hanging out at a different facility in Florida (not a great one) and avoided getting seized, so not sure if she is still part of the zoo's collection and boarding elsewhere for the winter when the seasonal zoo is closed so they can still make money off of her or if they did finally give her away.
 
God these people disgust me. Every year these lists get worse and worse. And they call themselves “experts” yet the video they use for Oklahoma City zoo states “male pushing female” but it’s Bowie and Kandula. They even include Kandula in their post claiming he may have cataracts from the stress of captivity… They can’t seem to decipher him from the females despite the obvious size difference and oh you know lack of female reproductive organs… let us not forget that Oklahoma has a board with photos and tips on how to identify each animal just around the corner from where that video was taken. It’s beginning to seem they just make these lists for clout, they don’t give two flying pigs about they animals themselves. They post pure rubbish and propaganda just for some views it’s honestly sad and really gets my blood boiling.
 
Last edited:
StoppableSan said:
2. Houston Zoo, *prolific breeding*.
Click to expand...

When elephants in zoos did not breed, it was bad. If the breed well, it is... also bad.

I am afraid this organization has no credibility whatsoever and tries to show positive things in negative light. Happily, most people understand they write nonsense.

Seriously, an important part of elephant behaviour which occupies a large part of their life is raising and caring for the young. And childless cows develop diseases of their reproductive system. Letting elephants live a normal life means letting them have and raise calves. Elephants don't understand the human opinion that it is better to stay childless for some other goal.
 
Jurek7 said:
When elephants in zoos did not breed, it was bad. If the breed well, it is... also bad.
Click to expand...

Because the main argument against zoos was the “taking animals from the wild for display” rhetoric. Now that zoos breed their animals, the “taken from the wild” claim can be countered. But the thing is, that animal rights activists aren’t going to be satisfied no matter how many ethical stances (accredited) zoos and accreditation bodies take, be it creating self-sustaining populations, financial contributions to in-situ programs, or condemning anything that is not as noble as them. Animal rights activists will not give up. Until. Every. Cage. Is. Empty.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top