Zoo fires back against attack by "fringe group of local activists"

Woodland Park Zoo officials called the filing of a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to try to shut down the zoo's Asian elephant breeding program "yet another attack on Woodland Park Zoo and its excellent elephant program by a fringe group of local activists." 

A statement from zoo spokeswoman Gigi Allianic went on to say the group's "long-term agenda is not only the elimination of elephants in zoos, but of zoos themselves."

The complaint, filed by the Sound Animal Rights Alliance, stems from the death two years ago of the Asian elephant, Hansa.  According to a press release from the group, the complaint includes a declaration from a veterinarian with experience working with elephants that describes the zoo as an “infected environment.”

According to the press release, SARA, a local animal advocacy group, claims that the Zoo violated the AWA by exposing Hansa to the Zoo’s African elephant, Watoto, a known herpes risk factor, thereby causing her death and by continuing to try to breed Hansa’s mother, Chai, even after Hansa’s death from herpes.  Experts stated the young elephant caught the virus from one of the adult elephants at the zoo. 

The zoo took strong exception.

"Woodland Park Zoo’s elephants are cared for by a dedicated team of elephant-care experts and board-certified veterinarians with approximately 160 combined years of elephant management experience, including a scientist who specializes in elephant reproductive physiology," Allianic's release said. "Animal welfare is our highest priority and our area of expertise."

According to the zoo, extensive research is being done on understanding elephant herpesviruses (EEHV), which may have important implications for wild elephants in the future.

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EEHV is not just a disease of elephants in captivity. “Every elephant worldwide – in the wild and in zoos – potentially has one or more herpesvirus,” explained Woodland Park Zoo Director of Animal Health Dr. Darin Collins in the release. “We don’t know why some animals become ill and others don’t. It’s not about who has the virus, but who gets ill and when. These viruses are ancient and have co-evolved with elephants over tens of millions of years.” The theory that Asian elephants get these diseases from African elephants has been debunked by recent data collected by EEHV researchers.

Woodland Park Zoo works closely with the world’s only experts on EEHV: the National Elephant Herpesvirus Laboratory at Smithsonian National Zoo, which is dedicated to investigating this set of diseases. The zoo collaborates with other accredited North American elephant care institutions, the International Elephant Foundation, Baylor College of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, and the international scientific community on this issue. This collaboration is critical to solving the mystery of how EEHV is spread and protecting elephants in zoos and in the wild in Asia and Africa. These experts advise us to continue our breeding program at Woodland Park Zoo.

"At Woodland Park Zoo, we trust the expertise of the international team of EEHV experts and our excellent animal care staff, including the staff veterinarians," the zoo's release said.

"We have been in close contact with USDA since Hansa’s death and have provided them with all our records regarding her illness. We will fully cooperate with any additional questions USDA has as a result of this complaint," according to the zoo.

However, Nancy Farnam, Director of SARA’s elephant campaign, said in the group's release, "Woodland Park Zoo ignored its duty to protect Hansa from these viruses, exposing her every day to Watoto.”

Zoo industry guidelines caution against housing Asian and African elephants together since it is well known that herpes viruses endemic to African elephants can “jump” species and have been killing young captive Asian elephants under 10 years old, the group argued.   

Additional evidence obtained from Woodland Park Zoo confirms that the zoo’s African elephant, Watoto, is infected with the same virus that killed Hansa, EEHV3, the press release said.

  “With Hansa’s death, the Zoo was on notice that they had this deadly virus at their facility but continued trying to breed Chai anyway through artificial insemination,” said Farnam.  “Confirmation of Watoto’s infection proves that any Asian elephant calf born at the Zoo would be exposed to the virus every day,” added Farnam.  The Zoo has not announced that it has ended its elephant-breeding program.  “We have to assume they plan to still pursue breeding,” said Farnam.

 According to the group's press release, Jennifer Conrad, DVM, a veterinarian who has worked with both zoo and wild elephants, recently reviewed Woodland Park Zoo’s records relating to Hansa’s death and those confirming Watoto’s herpes infection.  She has provided a declaration expressing her professional opinion that “Woodland Park Zoo is a herpes-exposed facility and, therefore, the zoo should no longer engage in Asian elephant-breeding programs…it is imperative that the zoo not expose another…Asian elephant calf to the herpesvirus (EEHV3)…The simple truth is that the risk of death for the offspring is too great,” wrote Dr. Conrad.