Think Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo Can’t Get Elephants again? Think Again.
An Entertainment Abuses Articles from All-Creatures.org

FROM Alyne Fortgang, Co-founder, Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants
September 2021

People’s attitudes about caging wild animals are changing and the City needs to represent its citizens’ values... Please tell the Public Assets and Native Communities Committee that oversight and accountability must continue, keeping authority in the hands of the City.

Take a few minutes to email your written public comment by SEPTEMBER 9th by 5 PM.

For registration to call-in to give public comment,go HERE. You can register after NOON on SEPTEMBER 10th, for the 2 PM meeting of the Public Assets and Native Communities* meeting.

Elephant Bamboo

Woodland Park Zoo is trying to take away the City’s authority over the animals! The Operations Agreement between the City of Seattle and the zoo is expiring soon!

None of us will ever forget the merciless 112 artificial inseminations of Chai or the decade-long effort to get the elephants retired to PAWS sanctuary. In an effort to get the elephants to sanctuary, the City Attorney wrote an Ordinance that, if passed, would have directed WPZ to do just that. A clause in the expiring Agreement gave the City this authority over the disposition of the animals. WPZ removed this clause from the proposed renewal of the 20-year Agreement which effectively ends citizens’ input to have the City Council set policy such as an Ordinance. Without this clause reinstated WPZ could get elephants again!

Please help make sure this or other inhumane practices never happen again by telling the Public Assets and Native Communities Committee that oversight and accountability must continue.

Advocacy in 3 Easy Steps

1. Simply cut and paste a talking point (see below) into an email, or write your own, with the subject line: The City Must Maintain Authority Over the Disposition of the Animals at WPZ. Written comment must be received by September 9th at 5PM. (Registration for call-in public comment for the Public Assets Committee’s 2PM meeting on Sept 10th begins at NOON that day.)

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2. Choose, mix-and-match or personalize any of the talking points below to email to the city councilmembers and their staff (addresses above).

THE CITY MUST CONTINUE ITS OVERSIGHT OF THE WOODLAND PARK ZOO. People’s attitudes about caging wild animals are changing and the City needs to represent its citizens’ values. The City of Seattle MUST have oversight and the ability to set policy over the buying/selling/moving/breeding of animals and their general welfare. We cannot forget how an Ordinance could have gotten the elephants to sanctuary. Instead WPZ showed profound indifference to their suffering; housing incompatible elephants in tiny sections of one acre and in the wrong climate AND mercilessly inseminated Chai the elephant 112 times.

TAXPAYER SUBSIDIES TO WPZ SHOULD BE LOWERED, NOT INCREASED SO THE CITY CAN FUND PRIORITIES MORE IMPORTANT TO SEATTLE RESIDENTS. Public support for WPZ has declined. Paid gate attendance has trended downward for over a decade despite our robust population boom. People are voting with their feet and not going to WPZ as in the past. Also, the 120 acres in Enumclaw could have better uses than a breeding center and should be sold.

DON’T LET THE ZOO HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO BUILD STRUCTURES THAT DESTROY PARKLAND AND IMPACT THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY. The Superintendent has too much authority to approve a long-range plan which could include an “Events Center” and “Office Building” – in parkland and within a residential neighborhood. Only the City Council should be able to approve this with input from the affected communities.

THE CITY SHOULD NOT ALLOW THE ZOO TO CONTINUOUSLY RAISE ADMISSION PRICES, ESPECIALLY AS ATTENDANCE HAS BEEN DROPPING FOR OVER A DECADE. While the City is obligated to increase funding to WPZ through this Operations Agreement, the City will have no power to stop the zoo from raising prices; making it even more unaffordable and exclusive. Let’s remember that a child’s ticket is $15 and an adult ticket is $24.60. A day at the zoo for a family of 4, with parking, could easily cost close to $100.

3. YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

Take a few minutes to email your written public comment by SEPTEMBER 9th by 5 PM.

For registration to call-in to give public comment,go HERE. You can register after NOON on SEPTEMBER 10th, for the 2 PM meeting of the Public Assets and Native Communities* meeting.

Please do this for the sake of the suffering wild animals caged for life, AND for future animal advocates who, over the next 20 years, will want to challenge the zoo’s inhumane form of entertainment on the backs of suffering animals!*The Agreement first goes to the Public Assets and Native Communities Committee for public comment and a vote and then on to the full Council for public comment and a vote. Then to the Mayor to sign. The Councilmembers have a full plate and Woodland Park Zoo is not their priority, so it is beyond imperative that EVERYONE write and/or give call-in public comment. 


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