SEATTLE — A Seattle zoo was preparing to move its two elephants, Bamboo and Chai, to a new home in Oklahoma City after a federal appeals court declined Wednesday to block the transfer.
A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a motion by activists to stop the move of the aging female elephants from Woodland Park Zoo to the Oklahoma City Zoo.
“We have the logistics in place to move them. For the animals’ safety and security we can’t provide the particulars,” zoo spokeswoman Gigi Allianic wrote in an email. “We are following the cues of our animals.”
Activists have said the long trip to Oklahoma would endanger the elephants’ health and that their quality of life there would be worse than in Seattle. The legal action was part of the broader debate about whether housing elephants in zoos is humane, with critics arguing the large animals need more space to roam than zoos can provide.
Woodland Park Zoo President Deborah Jensen said in a statement that officials were grateful for the court’s decision and were focused on the elephants’ welfare.
Alyne Fortgang, a co-founder of the Elephant Justice Project, was at the zoo and said activists would not try to block the move. The activists wanted the elephants sent to a sanctuary.
Woodland Park Zoo estimates it will cost $111,000 to ship the two elephants. The elephants would be on a long-term loan.
The zoo has said the transfer will give the pair more space and allow them to be part of a larger herd.
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