COLORADO SPRINGS — An animal rights group has filed a lawsuit against the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. The Nonhuman Rights Project is calling on the zoo to release its five African elephants and have them relocated to an elephant sanctuary.
On Thursday, a spokesperson with the zoo also said, they've been summoned by the court to respond.
The 376-page lawsuit names Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou and Jambo, who are all cared for at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. The lawsuit claims the elephants are unlawfully confined and restrained there.
“Our argument to this court is the zoo simply can't provide the environment, whether it's space, whether it's topography, or whether it's social interactions that elephants need,” said Jake Davis, a staff attorney for the Nonhuman Rights Project. “Our hope is that we can get them to a better place.”
After a visit to the zoo, the group alleges that the elephants engage in behavior showing signs of mental trauma and brain damage.
“We can see that they're rocking, we can see that they're bobbing, we can see that they're swaying, perhaps they're moving forward and backwards,” said Davis. “It's a physical representation of damage in the mind.”
The zoo, responded by saying the lawsuit is malicious and that their elephant care team has 65 years of experience and four full-time keepers to care for the animals.
Jason Bredahl is the animal care manager who’s had more than 20 years of experience caring for the animals.
“We’re super proud of our program here,” said Bredahl. "What we do here is continually monitor our elephants through our care program. We're constantly monitoring how their health is developing over time as they continue to age."
Bredahl said the elephants engage in different activities to find food, going though different activities and using different muscles. Plus, he said the elephants are active indoors and outdoors, including in a nearly two-acre "vacation yard" that's not visible to guests.
“They're free to walk up and down and go roam this whole space. They tell us when they're done, and then they head back towards the barn and we can give them another opportunity inside,” said Bredahl. “We also have a path next to the vacation yard that sends them down through the woods a little bit. We call it our elephant truck so they can get a little bit of longer walking opportunities that way.”
The project argues that two acres of land is not large enough for elephants to live in, and they need longer distances to be able to move around and walk. The zoo argues that many wild elephants have to walk miles in order to find food, and at the zoo, the elephants have everything they need to eat and survive nearby.
The project also argues that the elephants need more freedom and to be able to choose what other elephants they spend their days with. The zoo argues, not all elephants get along with one another, and they’ve studied the behavior of the five elephants and group them with who they get along best with. In a statement provided after the lawsuit was filed, the zoo said, “We do not force them to share direct space if their behavior shows us they don’t want to. The elephant pairs who live together at our Zoo live with who they show the most positive behaviors with. We believe they deserve to be given that choice to make the decision.”
Bob Chastain, the zoo's President and CEO said the lawsuit could cost thousands of dollars to fight in court.
“Of course, we’re a little surprised. Instead of spending money on the good work that we're doing, we'll be spending money on a lawyer because someone from out of state who doesn't even know the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo,” said Chastain.
Chastain added that he’s surprised the project is suing a zoo that has a clean accreditation inspection recently done by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
“You would think if they really cared about animal welfare, they might be spending their time on programs that were less strong less accredited,” said Chastain. “We have a hope that Colorado Springs will do the right thing, and it would be dismissed, and that they would realize it's an outside organization that has nothing about Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, they would view it as a waste of our time.”
The zoo is arguing the aging elephants in their 40s and 50s are well taken care of.
“We know what wild elephants needs,” said Chastain.
But the project saying the elephants are suffering and need to be relocated sooner rather than later.
“Our hope is that we can get them to a better place. If these elephants at the Cheyenne Mountain zoo were taken from the zoo and put in a sanctuary environment. Their lives would change immensely. It would be night and day,” said Davis. “Whether we win or lose this case. We are going to continue to advocate for these elephants.”
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