Animal advocates clamoring for the release of the Bronx Zoo’s Happy the Elephant from its enclosure had been dealt a major legal defeat from the state’s highest-ranking court, the New York Court of Appeals last summer. The matter of Happy — who along with Patty is one of two Bronx Zoo elephants— according to concurring judges, was one for the state Legislature.
But now, the New York City Council is looking to get involved and could set a precedent — with the nation’s first-ever elephant captivity ban — if newly-proposed legislation from Brooklyn’s Progressive Councilmember Shahana Hanif is successful.
Hanif’s bill would prohibit elephants to be kept or constrained in enclosures throughout the city unless certain conditions were met.
The conditions outlined in the bill — which the Bronx Times analyzed before a Thursday press conference to introduce the new legislation — stipulates a legal elephant enclosure to include 15 acres per elephant, a cohabitation with other elephants and a habitat that can mimic the elephant’s natural surroundings.
The bill would also prevent elephants in enclosures to be used for educational or commercial exhibits, and requires the owners of an elephant enclosure to have a permit and license to do so, which would be conditional based on meeting the aforementioned conditions set forth in the bill.
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which operates the zoo, have long-stated in prior statements that Happy and Patty are well cared for by the Bronx Zoo. The WCS, which manages four New York City wildlife parks in addition to the Bronx Zoo, has never faced charges of abuse against their elephants.
Patty lives in an adjacent enclosure separated from Happy by a fence, as the two do not get along, according to the zoo.
“There have been millions of words written about this case by the media fascinated by the possibility of granting personhood to animals. At the Bronx Zoo, we are focused on what is best for Happy,…
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