El Paso Times
September 2, 2006
By Charlie Edgren, El Paso Times

Original Article

As long as the El Paso Zoo tolerates a culture of cruelty to animals, it should not be allowed to maintain custody of elephants Juno and Savannah.

The zoo/city dismissed a zoo worker this week, the same man connected to mistreatment of Sissy a few years ago. That incident resulted in Sissy's removal from the zoo and reprieve at the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn.

How long will city officials be content to tolerate this kind of conduct at the zoo? Did other officials or workers at the zoo or city know this was happening? The zoo obviously needs more and stricter oversight.

And it's kind of interesting to hark back to July of 2005. City Council had been deluged with complaints from all over about how Juno and Savannah were being treated. At a special meeting, experts and advocates decried the poor treatment being received by the elephants, the tiny, unnatural habitat afforded them, and unrelieved medical problems.

Carol Buckley, founder of the Tennessee elephant sanctuary, was there to plead Juno and Savannah's case for retirement back East.

Untouched by logic, the elephants' misery or their constituents' and the public's outrage, council voted unanimously to keep the elephants incarcerated in El Paso.

Why? Because letting people observe the elephants' miserable existence makes money for the city. It's the money that counts.

At that special council meeting, East-Central city Rep. José Alexandro Lozano was unbelievably rude to Buckley, an absolutely horrible reflection on El Paso (what's new?). But what a difference a year makes: KFOX reported Lozano said the recent accusation was "shameful" and "embarrassing." Whether he's embarrassed enough to do anything about it remains to be seen.

South-West city Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who went along with the crowd in July 2005, has reportedly put the item on council's agenda for Tuesday.

At the 2005 meeting, East Side city Rep. Presi Ortega, clearly angry, blasted the amount of e-mail he'd received from outside El Paso about the elephants' plight, said it was El Paso's business and should stay that way, and lamented the bad reputation El Paso was getting because of the bad news.

What now, Presi?

One can only hope their minds, and others, were changed.

A couple of things should happen here rather rapidly. First, Juno and Savannah must be sent to a sanctuary where they can live out what's left of their lives in peace, comfort and without the threat of beatings, unnecessary medical problems and being deprived of the company of their own kind.

Second, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association should lift the zoo's accreditation immediately, because it appears that such a drastic step is the only thing that might make an impression. It should have been done after the Sissy episode.

A thorough investigation of every zoo animal's health and welfare should be made -- by an independent, outside group.

And the zoo and city should receive harsh censures from AZA, the Humane Society, In Defense of Animals (already sent), PETA, et al.

The city sold El Paso voters/taxpayers on the need for quality-of-life bond money to improve the zoo. See what we got?

It's too bad animals have to suffer so much before the obviously right thing is done for them.