NEWSZOOS

This isn't the first time that the A'Famosa Resort in Malacca has been in the crosshairs of animal activists. The resort was previously accused of drugging a tiger to let tourists pose with it for photos. And over a year ago, when the use of orangutans in circus-type shows was banned in Malaysia (thanks to the tireless advocacy of the international group, Nature Alert), a directive was issued specifically to A'Famosa to cease its animal shows.

It should have been great news for the eight orangutans of A'Famosa. But instead of rehoming them to a sanctuary, the resort imprisoned the apes in dark, cramped cages, where they've become malnourished and suffer from stress and depression. Officials know about the conditions, but haven't done a thing about it.

"These orangutans have been locked up for 18 months straight now, in a disgusting state, their cages totally barren and they sit on cold cement everyday," said petition starter, Shiva.

The Los Angeles Zoo is one of a dwindling number in the U.S. that is publicly owned and financed. But all of that may change very soon if the City Council approves a plan to privatize the zoo, a move that In Defense of Animals (IDA) opposes.

Catherine Doyle, IDA's elephant welfare specialist, told the Los Angeles Times that privatization will result in less transparency, making the zoo "become even more secretive and insular."

In 2009, IDA filed a grand jury complaint against the zoo over its "gross malfeasance and unethical behavior in its actions to secure approval of a $42 million elephant exhibit expansion." The controversial, 6-acre Pachyderm Forest exhibit, which opened last December, was opposed by animal rights groups that wanted the elephants to be moved to a much larger sanctuary.

Last month, I blogged about the Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage. Nearly 75,000 people have already signed the petition, "No More Dolphins Swimming in Vegas," started by dolphin advocate and Change.org community member Barbara Napoles, in opposition of the habitat.

So far, there has been little response from The Mirage, but Born Free USA has recently relaunched their campaign to shut down the Dolphin Habitat, calling on their members to keep the pressure on The Mirage, too. Born Free USA believes that, "the last place a dolphin belongs is in a pool, in a hotel, in a city in the middle of the Nevada desert."

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas doesn't agree, and uses the Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage — nicknamed the "Dolphin Death Pool" for its 75 percent premature death rate — as an internship opportunity for students.

Kids from around the world are sending Valentine's Day cards to Edmonton City Council, asking them to have a heart for Lucy the elephant and free her to a sanctuary. PETA is coordinating the effort through peta2, the youth-focused branch of the organization. Nearly 1,000 people have already signed up for the campaign's Facebook event.

As peta2 writes, "No one wants to be cold and alone on Valentine's Day." Though elephants are highly social, Lucy has no companions at Edmonton's Valley Zoo. They're also warm-weather animals ... the freezing temperatures of Alberta, Canada don't exactly feel like home. Lucy has respiratory issues, arthritis and a chronic foot ailment. She also shows signs of psychological distress.

Last year, Hawaii became the first state to shut down the shark fin trade. In another effort to protect their ocean ecosystems, legislation has been introduced that would ban the collection of reef fish for the aquarium trade.

This isn't the first time that a ban has been proposed, but legislators are optimistic that this could be the year that Hawaii's reefs get much-needed protection. "I think there's just a greater awareness," Sen. Roz Baker (D-Honokohau-Makena) told the Maui News.

Part of that may be because of a bag found in a dumpster on the Big Island. It contained more than 600 Yellow Tangs that had been tossed out by a fish dealer. The hundreds of fish bodies were laid out on the pavement, providing the media with a stark visual on the aquarium trade's toll. But those few hundred fish don't even scratch the surface of the impact aquarium collecting has on Hawaii's fish and reefs; that aquarium in your dentist's office isn't as peaceful as it looks.

In Defense of Animals has released their latest rankings for the Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants. This annual roundup of North American zoos who excel in neglecting elephants is a call for change, not only for these particular pachyderms, but for the entire inhumane industry of caging elephants in urban zoos.

IDA's Elephant Campaign Director Catherine Doyle said, "It's absurd for zoos to claim to be conserving elephants when those in zoos are suffering and dying prematurely because of inadequate conditions and harmful practices. The key to elephants' survival is to protect them where they naturally live."

For those who still believe zoos are critical to conservation, Doyle provides an interesting statistic: "You can protect 50 elephants in Kenya for the cost of holding one elephant in a zoo for one year." Talk about an elephant-sized waste of resources.

Any zoo that coops up elephants to sell tickets belongs on a list of failures. Zoos across America have proven that they can't provide adequate care or space for elephants. So, what does it take to be the worst of the worst?

I always enjoy hearing how celebrities use their fame and money to give back. It’s even better when the celebrity is a fellow Michigander, like Lily Tomlin.

Tomlin has chosen to devote her spare time in a crusade against elephants in captivity. And on January 20th, she will speak on behalf of the new documentary Elephants and Man: A Litany of Tragedy. The film covers the history of elephants in captivity and exposes the cruelty that is at the center of this history. You can watch the film on YouTube, split into seven segments, but prepare yourself for the graphic content.

Throughout the years, Tomlin has spoken out against zoos housing elephants. She fought against the $42 million enclosure at the Los Angeles Zoo, championed a quest to relocate an elephant at the Dallas Zoo, and has joined the battle to urge Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo to remove their three elephants.

Everyone knows that no one fights harder than a hockey player. So I cheered when I learned that former NHL player Georges Laraque is fighting for the freedom of Lucy, the solitary elephant kept in Edmonton's Valley Zoo. Laraque has offered the city of Edmonton $100,000 if Lucy is released to a sanctuary in a warmer climate.

It's 1°F in Edmonton right now, where Georges Laraque and Lucy the elephant both live. Hockey players might not mind the cold, but Asian elephants certainly do. Lucy doesn't have a climate controlled habitat at the Valley Zoo, and the poor pachyderm has been forced to live in a completely unsuitable environment. She's also housed by her lonesome, even though elephants are highly sociable creatures.

Given her living conditions, it's not surprising that Lucy is in poor health. The 35-year-old elephant suffers from upper respiratory issues, arthritis, and a chronic foot ailment.

The elephant situation at the San Antonio Zoo is getting serious. According to a local news item, In Defense of Animals has filed a complaint in California against the San Antonio Zoo, saying aggressive behavior between two elephants, Lucky and Boo, will probably result in "dire consequences." IDA is calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to act immediately and remove the elephants from the zoo and transfer them to a natural-habitat sanctuary where they would have room to move and could choose their companions. In the meantime, IDA is asking the USDA to require constant monitoring of the elephants by the zoo.

The IDA's complaint is backed by one of the world’s leading elephant scientists, ElephantVoices co-director, Dr. Joyce Poole, who has been studying elephant behavior in Africa and Asia for more than 30 years. “Lucky is being terrorized by Boo," says Dr. Poole. "This kind of persistent bullying is not seen in the wild, because elephants have other activities with which to occupy themselves, and because they can remove themselves from conflict, if need be. In my opinion, the primary cause of this undesirable situation is that the elephants have too little space.”

Kentucky is having job problems, like the rest of the country. Its solution? Build an ark.

An article in the New York Times states that Kentucky has “promised generous tax incentives to a group of entrepreneurs who plan to construct a full-size replica of Noah’s ark, load it with animals and actors, and make it the centerpiece of a Bible-based tourist attraction called Ark Encounter.”

There’s a lot wrong with this picture. But I won’t get into the Constitutional and First Amendment issues here, or talk about how most of the jobs that would be created by this theme park would be low-wage, at best. I’m most concerned about the animals right now, and you should be, too.