Animal Facts

Elephants

* The infant-mortality rate for elephants in zoos is almost triple the species’ rate in the wild. “Glamour Beasts, the dark side of elephant captivity,” Michael J Berens, The Seattle Times, Dec. 2012 * For every elephant born in a zoo, on average another two die. “Glamour Beasts, the dark side of elephant captivity,” Michael J Berens, The Seattle Times, Dec. 2012 * Zoo visitors often mistake elephants’ head bobbing as “dancing.” In fact, it is stereotypical behavior caused by extreme stress; not behavior seen in the wild, according to wild elephant experts. Dr. Joyce Poole, letter of support for Billy - the lone male elephant at the Los Angeles Zoo. (Help Billy campaign.) * Many zoos have a contractual arrangement with the training company, Have Trunk Will Travel (HTWT), which trains and sells elephants to circuses. Baby Lily who was born in 2012 to Rose-Tu and Hugo, and destined through a contractual agreement, to be sent to HTWT in 2012, but public outrage forced the Oregon Zoo to buy back her contract along with Lily’s father, Tusko. “Read the Oregon Zoo's Contract With "Have Trunk, Will Travel,” the Portland Mercury, December 2012

Costa Rica to Close Zoos

In July 2013, the government of Costa Rica announced controversial plans to close the country's two public zoos, citing concerns about animal captivity and welfare. More than 400 animals currently residing in the zoos will be transferred to private animal-rescue centers around the country, where those that are able will be rehabilitated and released back into the wild.

Update August 29, 2015 - The Environment Ministry failed its court battle to close the zoos, but said it is appealing the ruling, but no date has been set for the appeal.

"We are getting rid of the cages and reinforcing the idea of interacting with biodiversity in botanical parks in a natural way....We don't want animals in captivity or enclosed in any way unless it is to rescue or save them." Environment Minister René Castro said at a press conference to announce the planned closures in July. National Geographic, August 2013

CIRCUS ANIMALS

• More than 35 nations around the world have in place either nationwide or local bans restricting the use of animals in circuses. Worldwide circus bans, ADI
• In the U.S., Representative Jim Moran of Virginia recently reintroduced the Traveling Exotic Animal Protection Act to Congress, aiming to end the “inhumane” treatment of animals for entertainment across the nation.
• The City of Oakland, CA just passed a ban on the use of bullhooks, to which Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced it will stop coming to Oakland in 2018. San Jose Mercury News, Dec. 2014

Trapping

Exposing the Myths, the Truth About Trapping, Born Free USA Number of animals used to make an average-length fur coat:



State leghold trapping bans

• FL (1973) — Steel traps banned except by permit for animal damage control.
• RI (1977) — Steel-jawed leghold traps banned except by permit for animal damage control.
• NJ (1984) — Use, sale, manufacture, possession, import, and transport of steel-jaw leghold traps banned.
• AZ (1994) — Leghold traps, instant kill body-gripping traps, and snares banned on public lands except for human health and safety, rodent control, wildlife research and relocation.
• CO (1996) — Leghold traps, instant kill body-gripping traps, and snares banned except for animal damage control, human health and safety, rodent control, wildlife research and relocation.
• MA (1996) — Steel-jaw leghold traps, padded leghold traps, Conibear traps, and snares banned except for human health and safety; Conibears only allowed by permit for damage control.
• CA (1998) — Use of body-gripping traps for recreation or commerce, and commerce in raw fur from animals trapped with body-gripping traps, banned; steel-jaw leghold trap banned for all purposes except padded leghold trap for human health and safety.
• WA (2000) — Use of body-gripping traps for recreation or commerce, and commerce in raw fur from mammals trapped with body-gripping traps, banned; use of body-gripping traps banned except Conibear trap in water, padded leghold trap, and foot snare allowed by permit for human health and safety, endangered species protection, wildlife research, or for unrelieved damage control.

Pigs

• More than 1 million pigs die each year from the conditions of transport. In winter, some pigs die frozen to the sides of the trucks. In summer, some die from heat exhaustion. Some fall and suffocate when additional animals are forced to pile in on top of them. Some die from heart attacks. Pigs Transport and Slaughter, PETA
• A typical slaughterhouse kills up to 1,100 pigs every hour. So despite the Animal Welfare Law that calls for humane slaughter, the sheer number of animals killed makes it impossible for them to be given humane, painless deaths. Because of improper stunning, many pigs are alive when they reach the scalding tank, which is intended to soften their skin and remove their hair. Pigs Transport and Slaughter, PETA
• On November 5, 2002, Florida voters approved the ban of intensive confinement of pigs in gestation crates. This was the first measure in the United States to ban the caging of pigs in gestation crates. Arizona voters overwhelmingly passed a similar measure in 2006 that outlawed the cruel confinement of breeding pigs as well as veal calves. Both states had overwhelming support from concerned citizens who wanted to put an end to animal cruelty in agricultural settings. On June 28, 2007, Oregon became the first state ever to pass legislation banning the use of cruel confinement of pigs in gestation crates. The ballot initiatives and state legislation are ample evidence that the movement to ban gestation crates is gaining momentum and increasing in popularity. Animal Law Resource Center
• Chickens and other fowl are not protected under the Animal Welfare Law, so there are no safeguards against inhumane slaughter. The State of California will end the sale of eggs from out-of-state battery cage facilities beginning January 1, 2015. The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, also known as Prop 2, was brought into law through a successful November 2008 state-wide ballot measure. It phases out the use of battery cages by Californian egg producers by January 1, 2015, while the new assembly bill extends that ban to out-of-state producers selling to consumers in California. Text of Act

Dairy Cows

A normal lifespan for cows is 20 years. In dairies, they are so intensively milked, their lifespans are only 4-5 years. Those considered no longer useful are slaughtered, and many downer cows (those that are no longer able to stand) most often end up in hamburger for school lunch programs Read court case here

There is a high prevalence of a mammary gland infection called mastitis in dairy cows, which results in a large amount of pus in milk. A little over a quart of California milk contained 298 million pus cells in 2003; 11 million more pus cells than it contained the year before. Pasteurization results in dead pus cells. One Green Planet

Florida's milk has the highest count: 548 million pus cells per liter, or nearly 130 million per 8- oz glass. Even that is well below the USDA's allowable U.S. standard of 750 million pus cells per liter, above which milk must be consumed in the state in which it is produced. One Green Planet

Primates Used in Research

Matt Rossell, who worked as a lab tech at OHSU (Oregon Health Sciences University), recorded undercover video that revealed stressed-out behavior by the primates—including self-mutilation that resulted in deep wounds. In 2000, Rossell and Dr. Isis Johnson-Brown, a former United States Department of Agriculture Inspector, reported that the USDA was in collusion with primate research centers to hide animal abuse from the public. That May, 26 OHSU animal technicians signed a complaint to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) against the laboratory. However, despite these claims and video evidence, OHSU was cleared of all charges of abuse by the USDA in 2001. Matt Rossell, Campaigns Director, ADI, PETA investigation in 2007 reveals ongoing abuses

Orcas

The film “Blackfish” spotlighted the on-going ordeal of captive orcas, especially the orca Tillicum at SeaWorld. Lolita’s story is not as well known. On August 8, 1970, Lolita was caught in Puget Sound, WA. One of seven young whales sold to marine parks around the world from a roundup of over 80 orcas, she was purchased by Miami Seaquarium veterinarian Dr. Jesse White. On arriving there, Lolita joined another male orca named Hugo, who was captured some time before Lolita.

She and Hugo lived together as close companions for 10 years in what is known as the Whale Bowl, a tank the size of a hotel swimming pool. Hugo died March 4, 1980, after repeatedly smashing his head into the walls of the tank in what has been described as an act of suicide. He died from a brain aneurism. Now Lolita is the remaining survivor of the 58 whales kidnapped over the years from Puget Sound. Despite lawsuits by ALDF, Animal Legal Defense Fund, PETA, and three individuals, she has not been granted her freedom. However, in Februrary 2015, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that Lolita and other orcas are now protected under the Endangered Species Act. Activists are hoping this means she will soon be released back to the wild.

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