Response to the Task Force Final Report
See also our Special Report on the Zoo’s Task Force
The recommendations of the Task Force in their final report were to be expected by the fact that the Zoo Board handpicked the Task Force members. The health panel advising the Task Force was handpicked by a Zoo Board member who co-authored an op-ed which stated (incorrectly) that the elephants don’t have foot problems, are healthy and should stay at the zoo. Further stacking the cards against the elephants is that the Task Force did not invite a single one of the 14 elephant experts we recommended – including the two founders of The Elephant Sanctuary in TN, Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick and Dr. Joyce Poole. The elephants didn’t stand a chance.
The president of the Zoo Board said that the Board would strategize and come up with a plan in early 2014. Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants will continue working to get Bamboo, Chai and Watoto to the hills, meadows and lakes of a sanctuary where they can bond with elephants of their choosing – anything less diminishes our humanity.
By the feedback we are getting we know that you, our supporters, are more energized than ever – and for that we are grateful and will continue advocating for Bamboo, Chai and Watoto.
Read the Task Force’s Final Report here
Read our Special Report on the Zoo’s Task Force
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