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Photo from the LA Times

The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) in India has declared that all elephants in zoos and circuses should be taken off display and sent to national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves ASAP.

Why did they reach this fabulous conclusion? They say the following in the India Times:

“CZA’s order is binding on all zoos. Elephants are large animals and require a large area to move about freely. The environment of a zoo can be very restrictive. The animals have great use for departmental work, eco-tourism, patrolling etc and a decision has been taken to send them to national parks and tiger reserves where they can be under the supervision of mahauts,” said A N Prasad, director, Project Elephant.

Obviously the CZA gets what so many zoos and circuses in the USA do not. Elephants need more space than these facilities can provide. So why keep elephants especially if many zoos (as they claim) have the animal’s best interests in mind? Because elephants bring in big money. To be fair, some zoos have phased out their elephant exhibit for just the reasons the CZA expressed. A zoo cannot provide a quality habitat for an animal of that size. (I’d argue they can’t provide a quality habitat for any animal but I digress.) For a circus, elephants are a main attraction and a large source of income. No way they are giving up elephants without a claws out fight with animal activists. How wonderful India has an organization like the CZA that can give a independent assessment of the elephant’s needs. I’m so jealous.

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