(BCN) — An animal rights group lauded Oakland Zoo for liberating its final elephant and sending it to a sanctuary in October.
Within the “10 Worst Zoos for Elephants 2024” listing the place the group In Protection of Animals criticized elephant therapy in zoos throughout North America for 2024, Oakland Zoo was praised for its “bold and compassionate precedent” in releasing the 30-year-old Osh to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.
Osh arrived within the sanctuary on Oct. 18, 20 years after the male African elephant was despatched to Oakland Zoo from the Howletts Wild Animal Park in England, based mostly on the web site of The Elephant Sanctuary.
Osh the elephant (Oakland Zoo)
“This decision makes it the second U.S. zoo to publicly acknowledge that even with one of the nation’s largest exhibits, it cannot provide the space far-roaming elephants need to thrive. The only other zoo to make this admission is the Detroit Zoo, when it sent its two aging elephants to sanctuary and closed its elephant exhibit in 2004,” In Protection of Animals stated.
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Inadequate area is a serious reason behind struggling for elephants in zoos, inflicting persistent psychological and bodily diseases, together with mind harm because of cramped circumstances, the advocacy group stated.“While Oakland’s 6-acre enclosure is among the largest in the U.S., it represents less than 1% of the smallest natural range in their home country of 2,470 acres,” the group stated.
Osh the elephant (Oakland Zoo)
In Protection of Animals hopes that with Oakland Zoo’s transfer with Osh, different zoos will observe.“One day, instead of languishing in deprived and undersized zoo exhibits, we hope all captive elephants will be free to roam, forage, and socialize in spacious sanctuaries that provide more of the freedom and richness of their natural habitats,” the group stated.
