Seattle council shoots down elephant bill
Apr 20, 2015, 8:18 AM | Updated: Apr 21, 2015, 1:10 pm
Elephants Bamboo and Chai have been diverted to the San Diego Zoo because of storms en route to the Oklahoma City Zoo. (Woodland Park Zoo)
(Woodland Park Zoo)
Woodland Park Zoo’s elephants have left Seattle, but that didn’t stop activists from making their voices heard at Monday’s city council meeting.
“Why are you ignoring us,” yelled one attendee at the city council.
The Friends of the Woodland Park Zoo Elephants urged the city council to continue efforts to divert the pair of elephants to PAWS, a wildlife sanctuary in California, instead of allowing them to continue their trip to the Oklahoma City Zoo.
Councilmember Kshama Sawant came to the meeting prepared with a new ordinance that would do just that and wage the authority of the council over the zoo’s plans.
“This council bill, I think, will help to address the elephant in the room,” she said.
“Many Seattleites are looking for us to act,” Sawant told the council. “Council members have received, literally, tens of thousands of email petitions and we have seen hundreds of people come to council meetings in the past to ask council to act.”
But the bill failed to pass by a 6-2 vote. Councilmember Mike O’Brien and Sawant were the only votes in favor of the ordinance.
Related: Storm diverts Oklahoma-bound Seattle elephants to San Diego
Sawant said the council and mayor are responsible for holding the Woodland Park Zoo accountable for the Chai and Bamboo.
“The animal rights activists and advocates such as are present in the chambers today, have made a compelling case that sending the elephants to a sanctuary instead of another zoo is the best way to avoid animal cruelty.”
Within hours of a federal appeals court judge refusing to block the move on April 15, Chai and Bamboo were loaded onto trucks and were sent to Oklahoma.
Storms in Colorado and Wyoming, however, caused the pair to be diverted. The caravan made a turn toward the San Diego Zoo at Salt Lake City.
It is unknown how long the elephants will remain at the San Diego Zoo. Zoo officials report that the elephants are doing fine and are in good health.
The Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants allege that the move was “poorly planned and hastily executed in order to avoid further action to block the move to Oklahoma City Zoo,” according to a press release. The group also claims that Bamboo began to suffer from colic during the move.
