An animal rights group has filed a lawsuit against the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium and is demanding the zoo release its elephants.
The Nonhuman Rights Project, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, has filed a legal petition in Allegheny County, demanding the release of five elephants held at the Pittsburgh Zoo.Â
The filing of the lawsuit comes less than one week after the zoo announced that elephants Victoria and Zuri, will be moved to its breeding center in Fairhope.
The organization is also seeking a court order to stop that transfer until the case is decided.Â
The elephants named in the petition are Angeline, Savanna, Tasha, Victoria, and Zuri.
A photo from the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium shows elephants Victoria and Zuri on the move.Â
Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium
The group argues that each of the elephants are suffering both physically and psychologically due to their confinement, saying that they are being deprived of their freedom.
This is the first case of its kind in Pennsylvania, backed by elephant behavior experts who say video footage shows signs of stress and trauma like rocking, swaying, and head bobbing.
The Nonhuman Rights Project says elephants at the zoo have been routinely separated from their family members, including mothers and calves who would stay together for life in the wild.
The organization says if the court doesn’t intervene, Victoria and Zuri will soon be separated again, this time from the herd they grew up with.
KDKA has reached out to the Pittsburgh Zoo for comment.