Friends Of Ruth & Emily
Ruth and Emily, two Asian elephants, have been held at Buttonwood Park Zoo, New Bedford, MA for the past 35 years. Deprived of a natural life, both exhibit abnormal behaviors that result from living most of their lives indoors in a concrete barn. The Friends of Ruth & Emily are dedicated to helping them make it to a warm climate, spacious elephant sanctuary, where they can be elephants, not specimens on exhibit.
Too Small; Too Cold
Too many people shrug and say they can't change the way things are. Or they look the other way because they "know someone" that works at the Zoo.
Worse yet are the people who pay to go to the Zoo, and ignore Ruth & Emily's suffering.
Absolute worst? The silence, even when they know something is wrong.
For over 35 years, Ruth & Emily have been crammed into a small barn for 16 hours a day, every day. That means that they can't avoid walking, standing and sleeping in their own (considerable) urine and feces. They also dust in it, leading to painful open sores on their faces and haunches.
Just look at the steel bars in the barn, making the space even smaller. Photos taken from inside of the barn show that the stalls are just 20 feet by 40 feet. That's barely enough room to turn around for a 10-foot long elephant.
When outside they had a mere 12,000 s.f. for 30 of those 35 years. The "expansion of their habitat" increased that to 20,000 s.f., less than half an acre.
It's time for both elephants to get the space, climate and natural diet that the Sanctuary has to offer.
Refuge: Sized Right
Asian elephants are subtropucal species. They are built for hot, humid jungles with rainy seasons and plenty of rivers with muddy banks. Temperatures rarely go below 40°F and snow is unheard of.
The relatively dry temperate climate of New England with its subzero winters and average three feet of snow means that Ruth & Emily are forced to stay inside up to 24 hours per day, sometimes for a week. This wreaks havoc on their feet and joints, leaving them with chronic pain.
The Elephant Refuge of North America in Attapulgus, GA, is where these elephants belong. There they will have appropriate medical care 24/7 all year long. They have the appropriate equipment, staffing and facilities to keep Ruth and Emily healthy.
Click here to see the Elephant Refuge.
Both elephants would do much better in a warm climate, where temps reach the 70s by February. That means more time outside. And thousands of acres, not just thousands of square feet, to roam, relax in, and explore year round!
