Truth for Toronto Zoo Elephants - Save Toronto Zoo Elephants

Video: "Truth for Toronto Zoo Elephants - Save Toronto Zoo Elephants"

Description:

Stop the transfer of these elephants to a sanctuary with two tuberculosis deaths in 2 years and current active tuberculosis which was transmitted ON SITE from one elephant (now deceased) to another. These TB+ Asian elephants shared a barn with the African elephants for five years... the last African elephant to die, Ruby has had no cause of death ever determined and the sanctuary would not provide her tissue culture reports to the Toronto zoo, WHY?

Transcript:

• 0:00 - TUBERCULOSIS IS NOT FREEDOM
• 0:05 - Refuting Propaganda 2.0
• 0:10 - Why would anyone deliberately expose three healthy elephants to a deadly disease? In the name of a cause?
• 0:18 - And send them to a facility with proven tuberculosis transmission on site?
• 0:23 - [TRUTH] [LIES LIES LIES ...]
• 0:30 - Sometimes the TRUTH challenges what we want to believe in
• 0:35 - Toronto City Council Will force the Toronto Zoo Elephants to be moved to a sanctuary which has a scientifically proven tuberculosis risk in both its African and Asian herds. Why?
• 0:42 - What is objectionable, what is dangerous, about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause but what they say about their opponents.
• 0:48 - Is your animal rights cause more important than true animal welfare?
• 0:53 - We are not your post children
• 0:58 - We are not a trophy
• 1:03 - We are not your victory
• 1:08 - You have no right to risk our lives in the name of your self-righteous dogma
• 1:13 - To sentence us to death ... With your propaganda
• 1:20 - We are NOT your political pawns
• 1:25 - This is not animal welfare
• 1:30 - This is Animal Abuse
• 1:35 - There are safer alternatives. But your egos and your arrogance have more value than the truth. More value than our LIVES
• 1:40 - WE ARE NOT YOUR CAUSE
• 1:45 - Your politics, journalist degrees and environmental studies diplomas negate reality? Or is it your egos?
• 1:50 - SAVE THE TORONTO ZOO ELEPHANTS
• 1:55 - Say NO to tuberculosis!
• 2:00 - Say NO to any risk. Say NO to any exposure. Say NO to false animal activism. Say NO to TUBERCULOSIS
• 2:05 - [SAY NO TO TB]
• 2:10 - Zoos exploit animals? Think again
• 2:15 - TRUTH: PAWS DID NOT TELL TORONTO ZOO ABOUT THEIR TUBERCULOSIS CRISIS
• 2:22 - Before they signed a contract with the Toronto Zoo.
• 2:29 - Citizens had to prove it with USDA DOCUMENTS
• 2:38 - Dragging the truth out tooth and nail...
• 2:43 - To Save Our elephant's lives from the ignorance of politicians and animal rights dogma
• 2:51 - You only meant well? Why don't you take this risk With your own pets and loved ones?
• 3:00 - Tuberculosis risks exist at the sanctuary
• 3:08 - What is more important? Your cause? Or our lives?
• 3:16 - This is just what we need? TUBERCULOSIS, take a long hard look
• 3:25 - [FAIL] What right does this man have to risk our lives?
• 3:33 - ... because you are a self-proclaimed environmental activist? [WHO'S PLAYING GOD?] Zoos? Or politicians and activists?
• 3:42 - [SAY NO TO TUBERCULOSIS] We are NOT your victory
• 3:50 - We are not your trophy
• 3:56 - We are not your political pawns
• 4:02 - Or your bargaining chips...
• 4:06 - [DON'T BELIEVE THE LIES]

Other "Truth For Toronto Zoo Elephants" videos:

• Truth For Toronto Zoo Elephants - We Will Continue to Fight For You

To learn more about the issue, and how you can help, see the About page.

Toronto Zoo Board Meeting (18-Dec-2012)

The Board of Management of the Toronto Zoo met on 18-Dec-2012 and discussed Item ZB18.5 Elephant Transfer Due Diligence.

This Zoo Board meeting was the first meeting following the latest City of Toronto Council meeting. At that City Council meeting (27/28-Nov-2012), City Council reaffirmed their decision to send the three Toronto Zoo elephants to PAWS in Item EX24.30 Elephant Transfer Status Update

As part of ZB18.5, the Toronto Zoo's CEO John Tracogna submitted documents:

• Toronto City Council's motions regarding EX24.30
• Toronto Zoo's Elephant Transfer Due Diligence Review (2012-11-18); part 1, part 2
• Councillor Berardinetti's submission containing report from Dr. S. Cork and Dr. D. Abraham

Members of the public gave deputations regarding several important issues:

• How is it that City Council could use Dr. Cork's report to say that due diligence has been met. The Toronto Zoo veterinarians are the ones who should be making that decision.

• That Dr. Cork's report may not be independent. The letter by Dean Cribb (page 2) refers to the report as the "2012 PAWS report" and two attachments ("Cover Letter to Zoocheck" and "PAWS Zoocheck UCVM Release Authorization") are missing from the submission. When Dr. Cork was asked to supply information that was partially missing from her report and that she must have available since she is the author of the report, she said to contact Zoocheck.

• That the submission to City Council contained three pages entitled "Notes on the Report" (pages 3-4) and "DISCUSSION POINTS" (page 5) that appear to not be from Dr. Cork. The authorship of those pages is in question.

• That the City Council merely advised the Toronto Zoo Board and was not directing them when City Council made its decision on 27-Dec-2012.

• Whether Dr. Cork contacted the Toronto Zoo senior veterinarians in preparing her report, and whether the Toronto Zoo senior veterinarians have reviewed Dr. Cork's report and have comments on it.

• That Dr. Dale Smith said during her deputation at Executive Committee (5-Nov-2012), "The shipment of elephants without any evidence of tuberculosis to a location where animals have died with active disease, and where a strong possibility exists of there being additional infected animals, is an unethical decision."

• That the Toronto Zoo senior veterinarians are being put into an ethical dilemma if they are asked by the Toronto Zoo Board to move the elephants considering that they have concluded that PAWS is not a suitable facility. The Toronto Zoo senior veterinarians must uphold their professional responsibility.

• That the Toronto Zoo senior veterinarians are responsible for the animals at the Toronto Zoo and thus they could not abstain from any decision, and that they could lose their veterinarian licenses.

• Whether the Toronto Zoo's senior veterinarians should resign.

• That the company Active Environments may not be an ethically suitable company to be brought in to crate train the elephants. There may be a connection to dolphin drive hunting in Taiji, Japan.

With regards to Dr. Cork's independence, Councillor Lindsay Luby commented that when her office contacted Dr. Cork to confirm independence, Dr. Cork referred to Zoocheck rather than directly answering the question herself.

Councillor Lindsay Luby stated that Dr. Cork's report was handed out at the Toronto City Council meeting and that the Councillors did not have a chance to read it beforehand.

Councillor De Baeremaeker suggested that if a professional is asked to do something by their employer that they feel is unethical then they should resign as a matter of principle. And he suggested that advice should be given to the zoo staff, that they should be encouraged to resign.

Prof. Ian Duncan stated that if the Toronto Zoo veterinarians were to resign, any replacement veterinarian would make the same ethical decision. Councillor De Baeremaeker replied that he and CEO John Tracogna had met with several veterinarians in the prior week and that those veterinarians said they would be comfortable transporting the elephants to PAWS.

Sabrina Fiorellino, one of the Toronto Zoo Board members, recommended that the Toronto Zoo veterinarians contact their governing body, the College of Veterinarians of Ontario (CVO).

In the end, the Toronto Zoo Board made the following decisions:

1. Requested the Chief Executive Officer to provide a report to the Board of Management on Active Environments' qualifications and competence to work with Toronto Zoo staff on elephants.

2. Requested that if air transportation is used to move the elephants, a pressurized plane with sound and temperature control be used and that each elephant be placed in a suitably sized crate, prior to transportation, thereby meeting the International Animal Transportation standards, to the satisfaction of the Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Zoo.

3. Thanked Toronto Zoo staff for their work in support of the Zoo.

4. Requested Toronto Zoo staff to not consider resigning over this issue.

See: Toronto elephants on track for April departure, Toronto Sun (18-Dec-2012)

Truth For Toronto Zoo Elephants - We Will Continue to Fight For You

Video: "Truth For Toronto Zoo Elephants - We Will Continue to Fight For You"

Description:

Animal rights ideologies should not supersede true animal welfare. When your cause and the need to define one's self becomes greater than, more important than the health and well being of animal then it is time to re-evaluate the motives of the spiritual leaders of your agendas. Science facts and logic have proven that there is a tuberculosis risk if the Toronto Zoo elephants are transferred to PAWS Sanctuary. No matter how much you want to support the sanctuary or how much you are against the institution of zoos at no point should your emotions or personal opinions override the logical truth. The sanctuary is not safe for ANY ELEPHANT AT THIS TIME.You have no right to force our elephants to be deliberately and irresponsibly exposed to this deadly disease. "Fare Thee Well" copyright The Rankin Family. I do not own the copyright to this song nor am I using it for profit. Its beautiful classic Canadian music for three beautiful Canadian elephants whose lives we cherish and value enough to fight for.

Transcript:

• 0:00: The Truth About Toronto Zoo Elephants
• 0:01: Refuting Propaganda 2.0
• 0:03: There is overwhelming evidence that PAWS elephant sanctuary has had TUBERCULOSIS TRANSMISSION on site. * Lab Reports, * Necropsy Reports, * Tissue Culture Reports
• 0:08: These elephants have been USED * EXPLOITED As a trophy and a victory For the animal rights movement. The cause has superseded The true welfare of Iringa Toka and Thika
• 0:13: City councillors colluded with Anti zoo organizations and engaged In a public relations campaign of lies about the Toronto Zoo
• 0:18: This transfer is UNETHICAL. Disease prevention protocols FAILED at the sanctuary. The Toronto Zoo Elephants will be at risk of contracting TUBERCULOSIS.
• 0:24: this transfer is an UNETHICAL ABUSE OF POLITICAL POWER. It is about who has the most money. Celebrityitis. USING OUR ELEPHANTS AS POSTER CHILDREN for the animal rights movement.
• 0:30: Thika, Iringa and Toka we are sorry
• 0:35: Sorry that animal rights ideologies and political egos have become more important than your lives
• 0:40: You have become a cause, poster children for the self proclaimed morally superior animal rights movement
• 0:45: A pawn for political egos and arrogance and personal gain
• 0:50: Animal liberation at any cost? At the expense of your lives?
• 0:55: Toronto City Councillors have denied the truth
• 1:06: Councillors have chosen their personal extremist dogma, political gain and lies over truth
• 1:11: Councillors conspired with animal rights organizations to malign our zoo staff, to publicly disparage our zoo
• 1:16: 6 elephants have died @PAWS in less than 5 years
• 1:21: 2 deaths claimed as arthritis, Sabu and Rebecca. USDA documents proved they were tuberculosis positive upon necropsy.
• 1:26: And now your lives will be at risk for tuberculosis
• 1:31: TUBERCULOSIS KILLS ELEPHANTS
• 1:36: It is a slow and painful death...
• 1:41: It systemically eats away at lungs, joints and lymph nodes
• 1:46: It requires hundreds of pills orally and rectally inserted every day, it causes painful side effects. It is a lifelong disease.
• 1:51: PAWS has an unknown strain of tuberculosis. It has no match in the GLOBAL DATABASES!
• 1:56: It killed Rebecca. She gave it to Annie.
• 2:01: What disease prevention protocols are these?
• 2:06: Self proclaimed to be the best in the world
• 2:11: Why wasn't Annie kept safe from this disease?
• 2:16: The African herd @PAWS lived with the Asians...
• 2:21: ... for 5 years! With Rebecca who had been treated for tuberculosis in 2002 and then died TB+ in 2011
• 2:26: There is risk of TB exposure in the African herd @ PAWS
• 2:31: Toronto Council ignores these facts, ignores the USDA Reports. They choose paid advocacy over truth.
• 2:36: Sentencing our elephants to death by TUBERCULOSIS
• 2:41, Annie @PAWS was reactive to statpak tests in 2011
• 2:46: She still converted to active tuberculosis one year later. She didn't respond to treatments... WHY?
• 2:51: Council said our elephants would choose this risk...
• 2:56: If they could speak for themselves, really? Would you choose this risk for yourself? Your loved ones or pets?
• 3:01: All the proof about TB@PAWS was evidenced by Toronto CITIZENS. Our motive? Justice for Iringa, Toka and Thika.
• 3:06: PAWS and Zoocheck Canada denied tuberculosis @PAWS
• 3:11: Denied it for months and months. They knew about their tuberculosis crisis For over a year before they signed a deal with the Toronto Zoo!
• 3:16: Councillors outright lied to the media, denied tuberculosis
• 3:21: We are sorry for their egos and arrogance...
• 3:26: Emails accessed via Freedom of Information prove these councillors colluded with Zoocheck Canada...
• 3:31: To use the media to attack and blame zoo staff for the delay of this transfer. Zoocheck told them what to say and they said it!
• 3:36: City Councillors took advantage of public ignorance, what you have not been told. Used our elephants as pawns in their political games.
• 3:41: Tuberculosis can take a healthy animal like this...
• 3:46: And turn it into this.
• 3:58: The National Elephant Centre is a safer alternative
• 4:04: Say no to tuberculosis. Save the Toronto Zoo elephants
• 4:08: [TUBERCULOSIS IS NOT FREEDOM] We fought for you, we will continue to fight for truth
• 4:13: Iringa, Toka and Thika, your roots may be in Africa but your hearts will always be in Canada. We will fight for you.
• 4:18: [If there is a better solution... find it. - Albert Einstein] Anti-zoo ideologies should not supersede true animal welfare
• 4:23: [Don't believe the lies]

Other "Truth For Toronto Zoo Elephants" videos:

• Truth for Toronto Zoo Elephants - Save Toronto Zoo Elephants

To learn more about the issue, and how you can help, see the About page.

Elephant Transfer Due Diligence Review (20-Nov-2012)

The following documents were submitted to Toronto City Council meeting 27-Nov-2012 as part of Item EX24.30 Elephant Transfer Status Update:

• Elephant Transfer Due Diligence Review (20-Nov-2012), with 3 attachments:

  1. Due Diligence Review, with 6 sub-attachments:
     1. PAWS Aerial Site
     2. USDA Reports for “Rebecca” and “Sabu” and PAWS' other elephants
     3. Letter from Dr. Michele Miller, DVM, PhD, Veterinary Advisory to the AZA Elephant Advisory Group
     4. Letter from Dr. Ramiro Isaza, DVM, MS, MPH, DACZM, Associate Professor of Zoological Medicine, University of Florida
     5. Letter from Dr. Ian Duncan, Professor Emeritus, Emeritus Chair in Animal Welfare, University of Guelph
     6. Letter from Dr. Dale Smith, DVM, DVSc, Professor, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph
  2. Letter from Mr. John Lehnhardt, Executive Director, The National Elephant Center
  3. Letter from Mayor Susan Adams, Fellsmere, Florida

For a summary of the Toronto City Council meeting, see:
Elephants at Toronto City Council, 27-Nov-2012

See also: Councillor Vows to Fight Transfer of Toronto Zoo Elephants.

Councillor Vows to Fight Transfer of Toronto Zoo Elephants

On 28-Nov-2012, one day after Toronto City Council voted 32-8 to send the three Toronto Zoo elephants to the PAWS facility in California, Councillor Lindsay Luby announced her continuing support of the Toronto Zoo elephants. The following excerpt appeared in the Globe and Mail (28-Nov-2012):

A Toronto city councillor is vowing to do everything she can to stop the transfer of three aging African elephants from the Toronto Zoo to a California sanctuary, fearing their safety could be jeopardized and the zoo could lose standing with a national organization.

“It’s never over till it’s over,” councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby told The Globe and Mail Wednesday. “My heart and soul is in this and I believe in doing the right thing for our animals.”

... The vote came after both the CEO of the Toronto Zoo, John Tracogna, and its top veterinarian presented evidence to council that sending the elephants to the sanctuary would put them at risk of being exposed to tuberculosis.

... On Wednesday, Ms. Lindsay Luby was critical of many of her fellow councillors. “I’m not an expert, nor is anyone on council,” she said. “When you don’t know the details, it’s easy to make a decision.”

At the Toronto City Council meeting on 27-Nov-2012, Toronto Zoo's CEO John Tracogna and senior veterinarian Dr. Graham Crawshaw had stated their concerns, including tuberculosis (TB) and bio-security issues at PAWS.

The Toronto Zoo's Due Diligence Review report indicated that the PAWS facility was not suitable for the three Toronto Zoo elephants and that the TNEC facility in Florida should be considered.

Despite the professional advice of the Toronto Zoo professionals, Toronto City Council decided 32-8 to send the three Toronto Zoo elephants to the PAWS facility.

See: Elephants at Toronto City Council, 27-Nov-2012

Elephants at Toronto City Council, 27-Nov-2012

On 27-Nov-2012, Toronto City Council discussed the Toronto Zoo elephants again -- item EX24.30 Elephant Transfer Status Update.

The discussion can be viewed on Rogers TV: Toronto City Council, 27-Nov-2012. The discussion of EX24.30 starts at time marker 487:10, about 73% into the video, about where the letter "l" is in the title "Council".

The Toronto Zoo's CEO John Tracogna and senior veterinarian Dr. Graham Crawshaw were present and answered questions from the Councillors. The Zoo presented its concerns and stated that it had concluded that the PAWS facility was not suitable. The documents that had been submitted as part of EX24.30 were:

Elephant Transfer Due Diligence Review (20-Nov-2012), with 3 attachments:

1. Due Diligence Review, with 6 sub-attachments:
   1. PAWS Aerial Site
   2. USDA Reports for “Rebecca” and “Sabu” and PAWS' other elephants
   3. Letter from Dr. Michele Miller, DVM, PhD, Veterinary Advisory to the AZA Elephant Advisory Group
   4. Letter from Dr. Ramiro Isaza, DVM, MS, MPH, DACZM, Associate Professor of Zoological Medicine, University of Florida
   5. Letter from Dr. Ian Duncan, Professor Emeritus, Emeritus Chair in Animal Welfare, University of Guelph
   6. Letter from Dr. Dale Smith, DVM, DVSc, Professor, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph
2. Letter from Mr. John Lehnhardt, Executive Director, The National Elephant Center
3. Letter from Mayor Susan Adams, Fellsmere, Florida

Several Councillors were practically verbally attacking the Toronto Zoo staff. While several Councillors stood and spoke in defence of the Toronto Zoo staff and urged Councillors to "do the right thing", including Councillors Ainslie, Grimes, Holyday, Lindsay Luby and Shiner.

In the end, City Council went against the professional advice of the Toronto Zoo professionals and decided by 32-8 to send the Toronto Zoo elephants to PAWS by 31-Dec-2012 or as soon as possible. City Council adopted the following motions:

1. City Council reaffirm its previous decision (MM13.9; October 24-25, 2011) to transfer the Toronto Zoo elephants (Toka, Thika and Iringa) to the Performing Welfare Society (PAWS) sanctuary (in San Andreas, California) on or before December 31, 2012 or as soon as possible and all funding for the move will be paid by PAWS.

2. City Council, having reviewed the due diligence process undertaken by the Toronto Zoo, accept the independent infectious disease report provided by Dr. Susan Cork that PAWS is a safe facility and meets the requirements of the due diligence process.

3. City Council advise the Board of Management of the Toronto Zoo that it considers the due diligence process to be complete and that the three elephants be made available for transport under the coordination of Active Environments including the responsibility for the transportation plan and to be paid for by PAWS.

Even though the Toronto Zoo professionals had concluded in their report that the PAWS facility has a tuberculosis (TB) and bio-security issue, the City Council accepted the disease report provided by Dr. Susan Cork of the University of Calgary. See Dr. Cork's report: part 1, part 2.

City Council saying that due diligence is complete and that everything is fine does not make it fine. There is still an elephant at PAWS with active and infectious tuberculosis, there are still African elephants at PAWS that shared a barn with that elephant, there is still no plan for safe and humane transport to PAWS, and the crate for Toka still does not fit her. Does this sound fine to you? Moving the Toronto Zoo elephants to PAWS is not in the best interest of the elephants. The Toronto Zoo professionals have said to not do it.

In addition to the elephant issue, Councillor De Baeremaeker who is on the Board of Management of the Toronto Zoo moved a motion related to AZA and CAZA accreditation. City Council adopted the following motion:

4. City Council request the Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Zoo to apply for admission to the Canadian Association of Zoos (CAZA) and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) once both of these organizations demonstrate that their standards of care meet or exceed the standards of care adopted by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) and both CAZA and AZA enforce their own guidelines, to the satisfaction of the Toronto Zoo Board.

AZA had already revoked Toronto Zoo's AZA accreditation. And CAZA had already suspended Toronto Zoo's CAZA accreditation, meaning that it was not yet revoked but would be revoked if governance issues were not resolved. Now that City Council voted to move the elephants against the recommendations of the Zoo, there is little doubt that CAZA will revoke its accreditation too. With the above motion and the fact that Councillors Cho and De Baeremaeker have been re-appointed to the Toronto Zoo Board, it may be a very long time, if ever, when the Toronto Zoo regains AZA and CAZA accreditation. Lack of both accreditations will hamper the Zoo's participation in the Species Survival Plan (SSP) conservation efforts. Even if City Council passed this motion as a political statement against AZA and CAZA, City Council may not have fully appreciated the long term consequences of the motion as it would affect the survival of species.

City Council also adopted the following motion regarding the City of Edmonton's Asian elephant Lucy:

5. City Council encourage the City of Edmonton to take immediate action to move its lone, 37-year old Asian elephant Lucy to a warmer climate (as the City of Toronto has decided to do for Iringa, Toka and Thika) and that the City of Edmonton invite independent veterinarians to assist in assessing Lucy's condition and treat her, if necessary, so that she can be sent to one of the two elephant sanctuaries in the United States as soon as possible.

The following day, Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel issued a reply. The following excerpt is from Edmonton mayor blasts Toronto over elephant advice:

"It's none of their business what we do in the city of Edmonton," he said. "I don't butt into Toronto's business. I don't appreciate it at all." Mandel said it's "disrespectful" for another city to pass a resolution about what Edmonton should or shouldn't do.

Zoocheck Canada, PAWS's representative in Canada, had unsuccessfully tried earlier to get Lucy moved out of the Edmonton Valley Zoo. The above motion moved by Councillor De Baeremaeker is clearly in support of Zoocheck Canada's efforts. Zoocheck Canada's Campaigns Director was in the audience at the City Council meeting and could be seeing advising Councillors Berardinetti, Cho, De Baeremaeker at various times during the discussions.

Just before the motions were voted on, Councillor Peruzza stood and gave a blatantly anti-zoo speech. He questioned the existence of all zoos. His speech clearly demonstrated that he is either unaware or unappreciative of the Toronto Zoo's Conservation Initiatives and its Research & Veterinary Programs. The Toronto Zoo is far more than a "tourist attraction". See: "Inside Toronto's hidden zoo".

Not only was November 27th a sad day for the future of Toka, Thika and Iringa, it was a sad day for the Toronto Zoo and for zoos everywhere.

From what happened at City Council, one thing is absolutely clear. The Toronto Zoo must move to an independent governance model separate from Toronto City Council. The Toronto Zoo must be operated by a Zoological Society that listens to and appreciates the advice of the Toronto Zoo professionals. See: The Future of Toronto Zoo Governance.

See also: Minutes of Toronto City Council meeting, 27-Nov-2012.

UPDATE: Councillor Vows to Fight Transfer of Toronto Zoo Elephants.