The Oregon Zoo has had 26 live elephant births over the past 50 years, with 19 elephants dying at the zoo¹. The zoo claims its breeding program is an effort to save the endangered Asian elephant species, which is threatened by habitat fragmentation and other issues in their range countries². However, critics of the breeding program claim that the zoo is only interested in breeding more elephants to fill their cages and bring in visitors, and that the animals suffer mentally and physically in captivity³.

Lily, the youngest elephant in the herd, died in 2018 from elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV), which has caused about half of the deaths of young elephants in zoos since it was first identified in 1995. Lily was almost six years old, and her death was another blow to a zoo industry trying to infuse new life into its elderly population⁴.

Chendra, an orphaned elephant that was shot and blinded in one eye before being relocated to the zoo, and the only Borneo pygmy elephant in North America, was expected to give birth to a calf. However, she was found to have tuberculosis and was quarantined while receiving treatment. When she was eight months pregnant, vets detected a drop in her reproductive hormones. A few weeks later, Chendra delivered a dead fetus, which was unrelated to the disease⁵.

Gay Bradshaw, founder of the Kerulos Center for Nonviolence, has been urging the Oregon Zoo to free Chendra⁶. However, the zoo has argued that releasing Chendra into the wild would be dangerous and would sever the bonds she has formed with her keepers and other elephants at the zoo⁷.

The Oregon Zoo's first baby, Packy, arrived in 1960, drawing international attention and tripling attendance that year. Since then, over two dozen elephants have been born at the zoo, but concerns have been raised about the welfare of elephants in American zoos, with mounting scientific evidence that most elephants do not thrive in captivity⁸.

The intelligence of elephants have been increasingly documented in recent years, causing some to argue that keeping them in captivity is inhumane. The Oregon Zoo has been at the center of this debate, as it has tried to use animal welfare science to make its elephant habitats more intellectually stimulating and spacious⁹. However, many argue that the zoo should close its elephant exhibit altogether and move the animals to sanctuaries, where they would be free to roam and socialize as they would in the wild¹⁰.

In Defense of Animals has listed the Oregon Zoo on its "10 Worst Zoos for Elephants" at least 11 times now, reporting that "All five Oregon Zoo elephants have varying degrees of captivity-related conditions, including chronic diarrhea, obesity, and assorted ear, eye, and leg injuries. They also suffer from toe fractures and foot disease, which proves deadly to many captive elephants via infection and abscesses¹¹."

Elephants are too intelligent, too compassionate, and too large to live in captivity¹². It is inhumane to breed more elephants doomed to exhibits¹³.

Sign our petition and ask the Oregon Zoo to improve its elephant habitats or release these animals to rescue facilities or sanctuaries!

More on this issue:

1. The Oregon Zoo (2012), "Elephants at the Oregon Zoo: A History."
2. Ciara O’Rourke, Portland Monthly (1 April 2020), "A Closer Look at the Oregon Zoo’s Elephant Breeding Program."
3. Bob Jacobs, Associated Press (24 September 2020), "The neural cruelty of captivity: Keeping large mammals in zoos and aquariums damages their brains."
4. KOIN 6 (30 November 2018), "Oregon Zoo mourns death of Lily the elephant."
5. Oregon Zoo (20 February 2020), "The story of Oregon Zoo Borneo elephant Chendra."
6. FREE The Oregon Zoo Elephants (2020), "Virtual rally: The Scars of Captivity, PTSD in Elephants."
7. Oregon Zoo (2015), "Chendra’s Story."
8. Jessie McClendon, Portland State University and the Oregon Historical Society (2020), "Packy the elephant (1962-2017)."
9. Ferris Jabr, Scientific American (26 February 2014), "The Science Is In: Elephants Are Even Smarter Than We Realized [Video]."
10. Jessica Pierce Marc Bekoff, Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science (16 Oct 2018), "A Postzoo Future: Why Welfare Fails Animals in Zoos."
11. In Defense of Animals (2022), "10 Worst Zoos for Elephants 2021."
12. Born Free Foundation (2023), "Elephants Encaged."
13. John Wilkens, The San Diego Union-Tribune (2 February 2020), "The elephant in the room: Are zoos suitable homes for the world’s largest land mammals?"