A New York City lawyers’ association is calling on city agencies to take immediate action to relocate the Bronx Zoo’s last two Asian elephants to a sanctuary.
In a letter sent Wednesday to City Council members and agency commissioners, the NYC Bar Association expressed concerns about the welfare of Happy and Patty, the zoo’s last two elephants.
“We implore the City, acting through its various agencies and the City Council, to relieve Happy’s and Patty’s obvious suffering and exercise its powers and/or its influence to allow Happy and Patty the chance to live out the remainder of their lives at an accredited sanctuary, free of the impoverishments they have been forced to endure,” the association said in its letter.
Animal rights advocates have been concerned about the elephants for years and have been closely watching the elephants for signs of poor health. In 2018 activists focused their attention on Happy and filed a lawsuit to try and force the zoo to transfer the elephant to a sanctuary, but the New York Court of Appeals sided with the Bronx Zoo. Last summer, Happy disappeared from public view for months, concerning activists. She reappeared in September when she was photographed laying on her side with what animal advocacy groups claimed was foot damage.
The association asked the city to step in, saying that it should pressure the zoo to surrender the animals, or take enforcement action to protect the elephants’ wellbeing, according to the letter.
But the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which operates the Bronx Zoo issued a statement calling the claims that Happy and Patty are in distress “unfounded” and “uninformed.” It insisted that its staff are serving the elephants’ best interests.
Some officials have already attempted to take action. One of the letter’s recipients, City Council Member Shahana Hanif, who represents Brooklyn District 39, introduced a bill that would prohibit keeping an elephant within the city unless very specific standards were met. Violations would incur steep fines.
“I have immense respect for the Bronx Zoo, which is a treasured New York City institution,” Hanif said in a statement responding to the association’s letter. “However, I share the concerns that the New York City Bar raised in their letter regarding the wellbeing of Happy and Patty. I agree that they would be better served at a wildlife sanctuary that meets the strengthened standards for elephants that my bill, Intro. 213, aims to establish.”
But the bill hasn’t gained much traction. It was introduced a year ago and referred to committee.
But some city agencies disagreed about their role in providing oversight, questioning the Bar Association’s claim in the letter that they had the authority to take action against the Zoo at all. The letter said that the city’s Department of Mental Health and Hygiene had jurisdiction over Happy and Patty’s conditions at the Zoo, citing a part of the New York City Health Code that requires zoos to have a permit to keep wild animals.
But a spokesperson for the department told the Bronx Times that zoos do not fall under its jurisdiction. Multiple city agencies punted the issue to City Hall, where a spokesperson promised that the administration would look into it.
“New York City has a longstanding relationship with the Wildlife Conservation Society and The Bronx Zoo to educate, engage, and inspire New Yorkers and their families through the wonders of the natural world,” said a City Hall spokesperson. “We appreciate the NYC Bar Association’s concern for animal welfare and will review the letter closely.”
The Wildlife Conservation Society, said that it is being unfairly “targeted” by activists and that the elephants are healthy and in good condition. It highlighted inspections by the USDA – the last of which was in August – which found no violations with the elephants’ care. It also earned the accreditation of a nonprofit that inspects zoos for quality of care called the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
“They [Happy and Patty] are in their mid-fifties and in good shape for their age,” a WCS spokesperson said. “They have a team of dedicated professional veterinarians, keepers, curators and outside elephant consultants—that monitor them constantly.”
But the NYC Bar Association said that elephants in captivity suffer detrimental health outcomes and neurological damage. It shared studies by academics like Bob Jacobs, who has a PhD in Neuroscience, that showed captivity has harmful effects on elephants’ brains.
In January, the advocacy organization In Defense of Animals ranked the Bronx Zoo as the second worst Zoo for elephants in North America, accusing it of isolating Happy and Patty and not giving them enough space or stimulation.
The letter called on the Bronx Zoo to follow the example of the Oakland Zoo in California, which transferred in October its last remaining elephant, Osh, to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. Zoo officials said the move provided it with more space as well as the companionship of other elephants.
