December 13, 2005
NARN Wants Seattle To Free Bamboo The Elephant
I'll bet you thought that after that last go-around on elephants, the Seattle City Council was done with pachyderm policy. No such luck. The Tacoma News Tribune reports today that the Northwest Animal Rights Network wants to improve the quality of life Bamboo the elephant, who is owned by the city of Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, but now housed at Tacoma's Point Defiance Zoo. They'll reportedly be meeting tomorrow with Seattle City Council parks committee chairman David Della, in an effort to convince him Bamboo should graze in greener pastures.
A grass-roots animal rights group wants a Tacoma elephant packed off to sanctuary in Tennessee. They claim Bamboo, a 38-year-old Asian pachyderm at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, is neurotic, overweight and unable to properly socialize with herd mates Suki and Hanako. Point Defiance officials admit Bamboo's not exactly bosom buddies with their other elephants but say she's neither sick nor problematic. "I think she's doing really well," said Point Defiance deputy director John Houck.
Members of the Northwest Animal Rights Network disagree. Bamboo's August transfer from Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo to Point Defiance "denied her the opportunity to heal from a lifetime of confinement, boredom and other abuses," according to a news release issued by group president Diana Kantor. Network members plan to meet Wednesday with Seattle City Councilman David Della to discuss the possibility of moving Bamboo to The Elephant Sanctuary, a 2,700-acre preserve in Hohenwald, (TN).....the campaign could escalate into bus signs or possibly demonstrations at Woodland Park if the zoo doesn't accept The Elephant Sanctuary's offer to transport Bamboo to Tennessee and give her room to roam.
Here's NARN's campaign to "Free Bamboo Now." You'll also note (scroll down a bit at following link) that NARN is coordinating a local anti-foie gras initiative; as are poultry rights activist cells elsewhere. As a Seattle resident, I'd suggest to Council Member Della I'm less concerned with allegations of elephant neurosis than with added police manpower in Seattle, functional public schools in Seattle, parks maintenance in Seattle, and traffic congestion in and around Seattle. Leave elephant management to the professional elephant managers.
Posted by Matt Rosenberg at December 13, 2005
12:52 PM | Email This
1. "...is neurotic, overweight and unable to properly socialize with herd mates..."
He should run for Mayor of Seattle.
2. Bamboo, in retaining NARN and the ACLU to protect her rights, spoke at a recent rally and claimed the zoo-folks "denied her the opportunity to heal from a lifetime of confinement, boredom and other abuses," She(Bamboo) also claimed the giraffes were being stiff-necked in their refusal to co-habitate with her.
3. I know Della personally. While he's something of a bleeding heart lib with too many connections to Ron Sims, I don't think animal rights whackjobs carry much real weight with him. He has other priorities other that dealing with fringe elements that don't vote.
4. It's as if these NARN folks have never watched the Simpson's season 2 elephant episode.
When will the fools ever learn?
5. More touchy feeely idiots!!Yikes!
6. If the CLOWNS put as much time, money and energy in truly helping homeless HUMANS as they do some fata$$, psycho elephant, the world would be a better place.
7. What a crock. (Oops, a pun).
If the NARN folks had their way, there would be NO zoos whatsoever, so to complain only about the treatment of Bamboo is dishonest and shielding their real goals ala "12 monkees".
BTW, Brad Pitt played a hilarious example of an eco-terrorist in that film...
8. Yes. everyone's tax money and STATE police power would be better spent identifying anti-abortion assassination cells in our area. They are the true dangers to the community.
9. Winston will stay up all night worrying about a mindless chicken in a cage but won’t think
twice about pulling a 7-8 month child from his mothers womb cracking his skull and sucking out his brain.
Liberalism in a nutshell.
10. Hey, I could write another book about this. Elephants doin' the nasty with humans, yeah!!!
11. Scooter,
Like they say in the movie credits, "Just so long as no elephants are harmed in the procsess."
12. How fun to see Tom Delay's face staring out from an AFIS Data Sheet on the national news media. Another blatant example of the left leaning bias of the MSM.
13. C'mon Matt. Give it a rest.
14. This is good. I mean, I hope Bamboo winds up happy wherever she is, but who really cares if they move an elephant to Tennessee or not? And yet, the moonbats are willing to spend time, money and energy on this, which means less mischief in other areas.
15. Brad : What you've said is the Big Lie. That doesn't happen. That is your justification for murdering abortion workers and it won't stop until you start getting the same treatment you dish out. Make no mistake: You are the murderer and you will end up with Tookie Williams.
16. Partial birth abortion does not happen Winston?
You probably deny the Holocaust as well.
You advocate the horrible murderer of human beings. How do you sleep?
I do not advocate the killing of anyone. I just have no regard for anyone who spends their day killing babies to make a house and car payment. They are the lowest form of life on this planet.
17. hmoul, Sorry, but I think you meant to say "fringe ELEPHANTS that don't vote"
Wait, ummmm is this in King County?
18. I am a professional former Head Elephant Keeper at San Francisco Zoo. The people of AZA and the Zoo Industry Paradigm and your city's David L. Towne who without any experience in Zoology nor a degree,rose to power over your Woodsland Park Zoo, president of AZA and President of your Zoo Society. They all torturously murdered the four elephants that I was Keeper for. This AZA and Zoo Industry Paradigm order the beatings, electric prods torture of wetting down elephants and holding electric prod on them until they urinated and defecated on themselves! With full knowledge as stated by the AZA through David L Towne they knew and know that elephants have to walk on soft surfaces to mantain the health of their feet. My elephants all died of degenerative joint disease, cronic infected feet that were chained to stand in their 18 hrs of waste causing their feet to rot and then fall off. Look up Tinkerbelle, Callie ands see for yourself. Snap out of your ridiculous smart ass attitudes. We all must work at cleaning up ALL OF THiS MESS THAT OUR SPIECIES HAS MADE. WORK WITH PASSION ON YOUR PROJECTS AND STOP HURTING AND RIDICULING OTHERS, IT ONLY MAKES YOU LOOK LAZY AND STUPID.
Sylvia Stewart Former keeper
19. I am a professional former Head Elephant Keeper at San Francisco Zoo. The people of AZA and the Zoo Industry Paradigm and your city's David L. Towne who without any experience in Zoology nor a degree,rose to power over your Woodsland Park Zoo, president of AZA and President of your Zoo Society. They all torturously murdered the four elephants that I was Keeper for. This AZA and Zoo Industry Paradigm order the beatings, electric prods torture of wetting down elephants and holding electric prod on them until they urinated and defecated on themselves! With full knowledge as stated by the AZA through David L Towne they knew and know that elephants have to walk on soft surfaces to mantain the health of their feet. My elephants all died of degenerative joint disease, cronic infected feet that were chained to stand in their 18 hrs of waste causing their feet to rot and then fall off. Look up Tinkerbelle, Callie ands see for yourself. Snap out of your ridiculous smart ass attitudes. We all must work at cleaning up ALL OF THiS MESS THAT OUR SPIECIES HAS MADE. WORK WITH PASSION ON YOUR PROJECTS AND STOP HURTING AND RIDICULING OTHERS, IT ONLY MAKES YOU LOOK LAZY AND STUPID.
Sylvia Stewart Former keeper