Zoos that should phase out elephants

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I will say this about elephants as well: it is long past time that we change the narrative on the elephant debate. Way too often, the debate is focused on otherwise very good zoos that are providing as good of care as they can but are dealing with the hand they were dealt, whether that be deaths from EEHV, aggressive or elderly animals, space or budget limitations, climate or weather concerns, etc. Not enough focus is giving to the zoos that truly keep elephants in horrendous conditions. Why isn't the Natural Bridge Zoo a yearly inclusion on IDA's Worst Elephants List? There are zoos like this one which don't use protected contact, keep solitary elephants, continue the practice of elephant rides, and keep elephants in truly subpar enclosures. Granted, I'm not saying that every zoo mentioned is perfect, and there's always room to improve, but enough time has been spent complaining about good zoos who can't build a Houston-level Elephant habitat, and not enough spent on the zoos that keep animals in squalor.

 

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Here are 3 zoos I believe should send their elephants to sanctuaries:
- Edmonton Valley (freezing cold conditions, lonely female)
- Natural Bridge (horrendously inadequate exhibit, lonely female, unnatural animal performances)
- Myrtle Beach Safari (lonely female, unprotected contact with humans)

And also, as other people said, most of the zoo's on the list shouldn't even be there (i.e ABQ BioPark, Fresno, & LA). I think it should mainly be focused on ones that have horrifically inadequate enclosures, like roadside zoos.