Group Wants to Know If Ellen Was Attacked by Newly Acquired Aggressive Elephant and Why the Zoo Was Closed and the Body Hurriedly Buried
For Immediate Release:
July 7, 2011
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Little Rock, Ark. — Today, PETA made a formal request to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) seeking an investigation into the recent death of Ellen, a 60-year-old elephant at the Little Rock Zoo. In a letter sent to Dr. Robert Gibbens, Western Regional director of the USDA's animal care unit, PETA cites the zoo's suspicious behavior following Ellen's death—including its virtually unheard-of decision to close down the entire facility, its failure to perform a necropsy, its rush to dispose of Ellen's body, and its refusal to disclose the burial location. The group also suggests that Zina and Jewell, the two elephants who recently arrived from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, may have been placed prematurely with Ellen, possibly resulting in her death. According to medical records, Zina has a history of aggression, including hitting an elephant in the head and fighting with another elephant.
"Closing the entire zoo, failing to perform a necropsy, having a secret burial in an undisclosed location—is the Little Rock Zoo trying to hide a negligent act or gruesome incident that could have been prevented?" asks PETA Director Delcianna Winders.
Elephants raised in a socially deprived environment like the circus, as Zina and Jewell were, can become hyper-aggressive and dysfunctional as a result of the circus's constant use of physical punishment, deprivation, and routine negative reinforcement. The Little Rock Zoo's elephant manager expressed concern about fights among the newly arrived elephants, and although zoo officials claimed that handlers wouldn't allow the three elephants into the same enclosure without certainty that they'd get along, recent reports suggest that the zoo had, in fact, put the elephants together. When animals are confined to small spaces with no place to retreat, minor disputes can turn deadly.
Generally, a necropsy is performed when an elephant dies, but when Ellen died, the Little Rock Zoo shut down entirely and immediately removed her body for burial. PETA also calls into question the zoo's claim, according to news reports, that it would not release the location of Ellen's body in order to prevent people from exhuming her body and stealing her tusks, when, in fact, female Asian elephants like Ellen do not have tusks.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.