Campaigns - Dallas Zoo
Zoo plans to dump lone elephant in Mexico
Following the premature death of 39-year-old Keke in May 2008, Jenny, a 32-year-old African elephant, was left alone. Rather than send Jenny to a U.S. sanctuary, where she would have the company of other African elephants and live in a spacious, natural habitat, the Dallas Zoo announced it would ship Jenny to Africam Safari Park, a “drive-thru” tourist attraction in Puebla, Mexico. This, despite the fact that Jenny has suffered serious behavioral problems caused by noise and vehicles.
IDA launched a campaign with Dallas-based Concerned Citizens for Jenny,which did a tremendous job of mobilizing pro-elephant advocates and caring Dallas citizens for rallies, city council meetings and media events.
Zoo Yields to Public Pressure
Under intense media scrutiny and pressure from citizens, the Dallas Zoo relented. But rather than sending Jenny to a sanctuary – a place where she could find rehabilitation and begin to heal from years of intensive and traumatic confinement – the Zoo opted to keep Jenny and construct a larger exhibit for her and other elephants.
Following the Zoo’s decision, IDA released a statement addressing the decision:
IDA still believes that the best option for Jenny is a sanctuary, and we support the efforts of those who continue to advocate for her. At the same time, we recognize that elephant sanctuaries are not the sole answer to the suffering of elephants in captivity...
IDA does recognize and support genuinely progressive steps to enhance the lives of elephants in zoos. In that spirit, we urge the City of Dallas and the zoo to publicly commit to making elephant welfare a priority by: providing the maximum amount of space for the elephants in any new enclosure (why not the full 11 acres?), constructing a facility that will improve the quality of life for any elephant who comes there, and continued adherence to the non-dominance method of elephant management (no bullhooks).
Zoo Promises Progressive Elephant Program
In April 2009, Gypsy, a 27-year-old female African elephant, arrived at Dallas Zoo to be a companion for Jenny. After a quarantine period, the two elephants will be introduced to one another.
Two more elephants, Stumpy and Mama, will be arriving from Lion Country Safari in Florida. The two elephants have lived together for 37 years and are fortunate to remain together. A third elephant, LadyBird, who had lived with Stumpy and Mama for more than 30 years, was cruelly separated from her long-time companions in 2006 and sent to the Greenville Zoo in South Carolina.
The Dallas Zoo’s new elephant exhibit is scheduled to open next spring. The zoo’s director has stated that he is committed to providing a better home to elephants in need of improved conditions and has no plans to breed elephants or import them from other countries. The zoo will also continue to manage elephants through the more humane and safer protected contact system, which relies on positive reinforcement and a cooperative relationship between elephant and handler.
IDA is committed to Jenny and to all elephants languishing in zoos, and we continue to closely monitor Jenny’s situation. We are especially concerned with her psychological state, as she is an elephant who has extremely adverse reactions to change. We will be closely watching the Dallas Zoo and its handling of Jenny during the many new and challenging situations ahead of her.
Jenny’s troubled and traumatic life
Originally born in the wild, Jenny was donated to Dallas Zoo in December 1986 at age 10. She has a history of extreme aggression and abnormal and self-injurious behaviors sparked by changes in her environment, including loss of a companion, increased activity and noise, construction, and vehicles. Zoo records report that Jenny stopped eating, playing, interacting, drinking, etc. for days following the presence of fire trucks near her exhibit in 1995. The Zoo sedated Jenny with a powerful tranquilizer from 1996 to 2001, stopping only after federal regulators intervened, calling the treatment "highly unconventional." Although many of Jenny’s behaviors have subsided, Zoo records indicate a concern that she can regress.
Read a more detailed chronology of Jenny’s life at Dallas Zoo.