Are elephants, including pregnant ones, imprisoned at Chaffee Zoo? Lawsuit says yes
Fresno Chaffee Zoo celebrated World Elephant Day earlier this month by announcing not one, but two, of its African elephants are pregnant.
It was welcome news for the zoo.
The pregnancies of Nolwazi and her daughter Amahle are part of a Species Survival Plan designated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and come a year after the addition of a new male to the zoo’s herd.
The elephant, Mabu, is the father of both calves, which are expected between September and October of 2024. They will be the first to be born at Fresno Chaffee Zoo.
The Nonhuman Rights Project saw the news differently, and used the moment to renew efforts to free the elephants from what it calls “unjust imprisonment.”
“This news is nothing to celebrate,”the group said in a statement at the time.
“It’s sickening and wrong. Nothing about these pregnancies is natural, and they are yet another egregious example of how Mabu, Nolwazi, and Amahle have no control over their lives.”
On Tuesday, the project filed a petition in California Supreme Court, arguing the elephants have a right to bodily liberty and should be protected by habeas corpus. The group wants the elephants released to a sanctuary accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries.
A similar filing was denied initially in Fresno County Superior Court and then the Fifth District Court of Appeal.
“The injustice of keeping a self-aware, autonomous being like an elephant in captivity is prolonged every day the California courts refuse to grant Amahle, Nolwazi, and Mabu a hearing, which is what the lower courts have done so far,” said Jake Davis, an attorney with the Nonhuman Rights Project.
“We believe the time is now for California’s highest court to weigh in on the pressing legal issue of nonhuman rights.”
The Nonhuman Rights Project also question the heritage of Nolwazi, Amahle and Mabu. All, the group said, were imported to the United States despite public outcry.
Chaffee Zoo reponse to latest lawsuit
In an email to The Bee on Wednesday, the Chaffee Zoo had little comment on this week’s filing and referred to previous comments it has made about the welfare of elephants under its care.
“This has been filed twice and denied twice,” the zoo said.
“We expect the same this time.”
How does Fresno Chaffee Zoo treat its elephants? Take a peek inside the operation
The future of elephants in zoos
Fresno is not the only zoo in the state to house elephants and is indeed just part of a larger, global debate over the future of the animals, which were listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2021.
The San Diego Zoo Safari Park has nine elephants and is currently working to expand its habitat into a so-called Elephant Valley.
A 61-year-old Asian elephant was euthanized at the Los Angeles Zoo in January awhile another, Billy, has been the subject of scrutiny for years, with celebrities calling for him to be removed to a sanctuary.
Some zoos, in places like Toronto and San Francisco, have phased out their elephant programs and sent the animals to sanctuaries.
Nonhuman Rights Project has offered to withdraw the lawsuit if the Chaffee Zoo agrees to release the elephants to a sanctuary, such as the Performing Animal Welfare Society, which has 80 acres near San Andreas, according to AP.
