Elephant care at Fresno Chaffee Zoo called out again by animal protection group

Fresno Chaffee Zoo once again finds itself in the sights of the animal-protection-and-rights organization called In Defense of Animals.

On Tuesday, the group released its annual list of Worst Zoos for Elephants, with Fresno ranked No. 9 along with zoos in Houston, Tulsa, Denver and Hamilton in Ontario, Canada, among other cities.

The list and accompanying report exposes “a deadly and exploitative baby elephant boom” that can “force elephants into unnaturally early, rapid breeding and invasive reproductive procedures, leading to shortened lifespans and devastating calf losses,” according to a news release from the group.

Chaffee Zoo was called out for an “ongoing cycle of secrecy and shame,” and for refusing to provide public records about breeding practices, especially in light of two elephants born 10 days apart at the zoo in 2024. “The zoo stripped both females of natural mate choice,” according to the group, and bred them with the same bull.

In a statement to The Bee, the zoo said it had been made aware of its presence on the list and called the statements from the group “inaccurate, out of context, or entirely false.” It pointed out that the zoo has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums since 1979 and that it participates in Species Survival Plans for many of the animals in our care, including African elephants.

That includes breeding.

The zoo’s pair of southern white rhinos have produced offspring five times over the past decade.

“We believe that claims and decisions regarding an animal’s health and well-being should be made by experts who have dedicated their lives to the care of these magnificent creatures,” the zoo wrote.

Chaffee Zoo named in the past

This isn’t the first time Fresno Chaffee Zoo has been targeted by In Defense of Animals or similar groups.

The zoo ranked No. 9 on the Worst Zoos for Elephants list in 2021, following a string of deaths over the span of two years. Those animals ranged in age from 11 to 40.

In response to the allegations, Chaffee Zoo invited media on a tour of its facilities, which includes the 13-acre African Adventure exhibit (with its naturalistic safari-scape with real and artificial trees and rocks, active water features and grazing land) and an indoor space used for animal care.

CEO Jon Forrest Dohlin told reporters at the time he didn’t doubt the sincerity of the group’s intentions, while calling its statements “distorted or just factually wrong.”

“We’re responding to the same thing,” Dohlin said: The potential that elephants have to fire the imagination.

“They’re inspiring our visitors, especially the youngest visitors.”

The Nonhuman Rights Project in 2023 filed a petition to have the zoo’s elephants released to a sanctuary accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, claiming the animals were being unjustly imprisoned. A similar filing had already been denied in Fresno County Superior Court and then the Fifth District Court of Appeal.

In its release on Tuesday, In Defense of Animals president Marilyn Kroplick also called for elephants at the zoo to be moved to a sanctuary, saying it was “the only ethical path forward.”

“This industry is manufacturing babies in a bid to keep exhibits full — not to save elephants.”