SEATTLE — Seattle’s mayor and five City Council members are asking the Woodland Park Zoo to send its two elephants to a wildlife sanctuary rather than another zoo.
The Seattle Times reports that Mayor Ed Murray and council members Sally Bagshaw, Bruce Harrell, Mike O’Brien, Nick Licata and Kshama Sawant recommend that the elephants be transferred to a facility “that is focused primarily on the welfare of the animals.”
They sent their letter Monday to zoo President and CEO Deborah Jensen.
Zoo officials announced in November that the two elephants, Chai and Bamboo, would be relocated to another accredited zoo so they could be part of a larger, social herd.
Murray and the councilmembers ask that they be advised of the decision about placement no later than Feb. 27. The letter notes that an independent third party has offered to pay the cost of transporting the elephants if they go to a sanctuary.
There was no immediate response from zoo officials.
