Taxpayers Sue over Mistreatment of Elephants at the Woodland Park Zoo

With representation from the Animal Legal Defense Fund, two Seattle, WA residents, Mary Sebek and Nancy Farnam, are suing the city to stop the use of taxpayer dollars to support the Woodland Park Zoo’s elephant exhibit.They’re arguing that the treatment of the zoo’s three elephants Bamboo, Watoto and Chai is violating local anti-cruelty laws. The goal of the suit is to have the elephants moved to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

“As a result of inadequate facilities, abusive management practices, longstanding intentional neglect, and breeding practices in callous disregard for elephants’ welfare, the Zoo’s elephants Bamboo, Watoto, and Chai suffer from severe and chronic foot and joint injuries, unexplained physical trauma and bleeding, and sustained psychological harm. Chai’s daughter, Hansa, died in 2007 when she was only six years old as a result of the Zoo’s practices. A fourth Woodland Park Zoo elephant, Sri, who is currently on loan to another zoo's breeding program, has endured the horror of carrying a full-term deceased fetus in her womb for over four years.,” according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

Sign the petition asking the city of Seattle to pull the financial plug on Woodland Park Zoo’s elephant exhibit.