Freedom for Animals welcomes the news that three elephants who were suffering from illness caused by elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) at Dublin Zoo have made a full recovery. But let’s not forget why they fell ill in the first place – the stress of being in captivity. Asha (17), Samiya (10) and the matriarch of the herd, Dina (40) all fell ill following the tragic deaths of two young elephants, Avani (8) and Zinda (7), who succumbed to the disease and died.

EEHV is the biggest single killer of young elephants in captivity. Just this week, a 12 year old female elephant, one of four ‘gifted’ to Fukuoka Zoo in Japan by Myanmar, died just a few months after arriving at the zoo following a 28 hour journey with three other elephants. 

EEHV is an ancient virus which co-evolved with wild elephants, in which it is benign. So why did these five elephants held in captivity, two of which died, become ill in the first place? It is well known that stress can impact on the immune system of mammals and cause disease from underlying infections. The stress of captivity undoubtedly contributed to the illness of the elephants at Dublin Zoo. 

The herd underwent two major stressful events prior to the disease outbreak. In November 2023, four members of the herd were transferred to Cincinnati Zoo, which in 2021 was named as the third worst zoo in the USA for elephants. This would have been stressful for the four elephants that were removed from their familiar surroundings and herd mates, but also for the five remaining elephants. Of course the elephants had no choice in Dublin Zoo’s herd meddling. 

Then, in June of this year a young male elephant, Aung Bo, was transferred to Dublin Zoo from Chester Zoo (where two elephants also recently died), presumably to mate with Dublin Zoo’s female elephants. Just two weeks later Avani (8 years old) and Zinda (7 years old) had died as a result of EEHV. Aung Bo had not been physically introduced to the rest of the herd and subsequently tested negative for EEHV. It would appear that Aung Bo was not tested pre-movement, which is shocking and should have been done as a part of basic husbandry. So, both Avani and Zinda must have been carrying EEHV. The stress of losing their companions who disappeared overnight to Cincinnati Zoo and the arrival of an unfamiliar male almost certainly impacted on their immune system resulting in disease and ultimately their untimely deaths. You can read more about these tragic series of events in our previous World Elephant Day blog post. 

It’s not just EEHV that is a significant problem for elephants in zoos – on average, elephants in zoos lead shorter lives than wild elephants, have poorer reproductive success, higher still birth and infant mortality, and significant foot, joint and muscle problems. In addition many elephants in zoos suffer from zoochosis, psychological stress-induced stereotypic behaviour, including pacing, head-bobbing and body and trunk swaying. Also, over 50% of elephants in zoos are obese due to poor diet and zoos’ inability to mimic the varied diet and foraging opportunities elephants have access to in the wild.

Some zoos have recognised that zoos cannot provide appropriate environments for elephants and have stopped keeping them. The number of elephants being kept captive in UK zoos has declined, as has the number of zoos keeping them. In 2021, only 11 of the 300 licensed zoos in the UK kept elephants. In 1995 there were 70 elephants in 18 UK zoos. In 2006, there were 76 elephants but this number had fallen by 31% to 51 elephants by 2021. Following the transfer of Belfast Zoo’s last two elephants to a zoo in the Netherlands, the transfer of a male elephant from Chester Zoo to Dublin Zoo and the deaths of two elephants at Chester Zoo, there are now approximately 46 elephants in UK zoos, a reduction of 33% and 38% since 1995 and 2006, respectively. 

However, some zoos, including Dublin Zoo, are allowing their obsession with keeping elephants in captivity to blind themselves to evidence that elephants suffer in zoos. As a result they refuse to even consider phasing them out. Indeed they want to continue breeding, as evidenced by the import of a male elephant from Chester Zoo. At least two zoos in the UK, Blackpool Zoo and Noah’s Ark Zoo have also made it clear that they will continue breeding and keeping elephants, with two females at Blackpool Zoo and one at Noah’s Ark Zoo already currently pregnant. 

If keeping elephants were so great for conservation, why is the trend in the number of zoos going down? This would suggest that zoos themselves are uncertain as to whether the costs (animal welfare and financial) justify any conservation or education benefits. There has been no analysis of the effect of stopping the keeping of elephants on zoos’ income which would suggest that any effect is unlikely to be strong.

To claim that they must continue to keep and breed elephants in zoos around the world to find a cure for EEHV in wild elephants is disingenuous. EEHV is mostly benign in wild elephants. The reality is that EEHV is getting in the way of zoos’ ability to continue keeping and breeding elephants in zoos for human entertainment. Zoos want to breed so they can develop treatments for a disease that only affects captive populations. So the suffering continues. 

Dublin Zoo has a responsibility under the EU Zoos Directive and the Irish Standards of Modern Zoo Practice (ISMZP) to take into account the most recent scientific information to inform the care they provide for animals. The scientific evidence is clear that elephants suffer in zoos and that zoos cannot provide appropriate environments for elephants that meet all of their welfare needs. Zoos, including Dublin Zoo need to recognize this and stop keeping them in captivity. By failing to do so they are failing to comply with the standards.

Freedom for Animals is calling for an end to the keeping of elephants in zoos, starting with a prohibition on breeding and transfer of elephants between zoos for breeding purposes. Following reports by Clubb and Mason 2002 and Harris et al 2008, which showed that elephants suffer in zoos, DEFRA in the UK commissioned a 10 year report by the Elephant Welfare Group to give zoos time to improve the conditions elephants are kept in. That report was submitted to DEFRA in 2021 and put out for consultation in 2022, but successive governments have failed to act since. While it has not yet been published, the 10 year report shows that there has not yet been sufficient improvement to justify the continued keeping of elephants in zoos. It is hoped that Ministers will now make good on what was clearly the government’s intent in 2010, and announce a phasing out of the keeping of elephants in zoos. Already some UK zoos, perhaps foreseeing the inevitable, have already cynically ensured that the female elephants they hold captive have been impregnated; to delay the end of keeping elephants in zoos by as long as possible. 

Freedom for Animals is now calling on the Irish government to accept the scientific evidence and phase out the keeping of elephants at Dublin Zoo. There are now six elephants at Dublin Zoo, five females and a male. It is clear that Dublin Zoo aims to continue ignoring the evidence that elephants suffer in zoos and will continue with their breeding programme. The zoo’s stubborn obsession with keeping elephants in captivity has blinded them to the scientific evidence that elephants suffer in captivity, while other zoos in the UK and around the world have recognized that elephants do not thrive in zoos and have stopped keeping them. Time for Dublin Zoo to see the writing on the wall.

Please take action for elephants, by sending a letter to DEFRA, demanding they fulfil their promise to end the keeping of elephants in zoos!

Appendix

The 10 worst zoos for elephants in North America in 2021 as listed by In Defense of Animals:

1. Edmonton Valley Zoo, City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

2. ABQ BioPark, Albuquerque, New Mexico

3. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Cincinnati, Ohio

4. Phoenix Zoo, Phoenix, Arizona

5. Bronx Zoo, The Bronx, New York

6. Oklahoma City Zoo, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

7. Toledo Zoo & Aquarium, Toledo, Ohio

8. Los Angeles Zoo, Los Angeles, California

9. Fresno Chaffee Zoo, Fresno, California

10. Audubon Zoo, New Orleans, Louisiana