I started this post on July 29th and never finished fleshing it out, because, I would alternately become overwhelmed with sadness/despair and the great amount of information involved.

The bottom line is that there is an elephant at the Dallas Zoo that needs all of us to help her. You can read her whole story here: Concerned Citizens for Jenny – but, then make sure you come back here, because, I’ve got lots more to share with you!

Those of us who are rallying for Jenny would like to see her go to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. The place is nothing short of amazing! I spent hours looking over their website, reading all about them and I was brought to tears more than once! This is just such a wonderful place – a true sanctuary – for elephants who’ve lived their lives in ‘habitats’ that are way too small with nothing but dirt and concrete. Of all the reading I did about The Elephant Sanctuary, one thing really got me and really, if I read nothing else about them, this would tell me so much about them and who they are and what they believe:

It is heartening to see attitudes begin to shift, with more
and more people realizing that “seeing” an elephant has
clearly not been successful in either public education or
species conservation in the wild. Our challenge with
the Education Gallery & Welcome Center is to create
an experience where visitors and supporters will walk
away with a greater understanding and respect for
elephants, without having compromised the freedom of
one single elephant.

This quote was taken from page 7 of The Elephant Sanctuary’s 2007 Annual Report

Help Elephants in Zoos – Dallas Zoo is another site on which you can read information about Jenny, including action steps you can take to help Jenny!

As Promised, Angela Hunt’s Video from Her Trip to Mexico is an article on the Dallas Observer blog with information about the trip that Councilwoman Angela Hunt took to the park in Mexico where the Dallas Zoo had originally intended to send Jenny. This is no longer relevant, as the zoo has decided not to send her there, but, I wanted to let you see all the information that you could about the case.

Here is a news video about Jenny, from a few weeks ago:

I have some more posts about Jenny coming up, for now, though, here are some actions YOU can take to help Jenny:

Contact the Dallas Mayor
Call, fax, and email the mayor, whether or not you live in Dallas. (This really is so important – when this hit the national stage is when the council really started listening and deciding to slow odwn the whole decision-making process. So even if you don’t live in Dallas, like I no longer do, please feel free to let your voice be heard.) Politely but firmly urge him to retire Jenny to The Elephant Sanctuary. Civilly insist that he intervene in the Zoo’s decision to keep her in Dallas.

Mayor Tom Leppert
Dallas City Hall
1500 Marilla Street, Room 5EN
Dallas, TX 75201-6390
Main Phone: (214) 670-4054
Fax: (214) 670-0646
tom.leppert@ dallascityhall. com

If you’d rather use the contact form on the city’s website, it’s right here: Contact Mayor Tom Leppert

Thank you so much!