They watch as Happy and Patty suffer — Help stop it
- 600milliondogs.org
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Happy and Patty have been trapped inside the Bronx Zoo for almost fifty years, and every year has added more layers of suffering that most visitors never see.
Both elephants were taken from the wild as young calves.
They lost their families, their herds, and the daily movement that keeps an elephant’s body and mind stable.
That loss never healed, and captivity has only made the pain heavier.
Inside the zoo, they live in spaces far too small for the miles elephants are built to walk each day.
When an elephant cannot move the way her body demands, pressure builds in her feet and joints.
This is why foot and joint disease are the leading causes of suffering and death in captive elephants.
Last summer, Happy disappeared from view for weeks, and when she resurfaced, people watched her struggle on her side with signs of foot pain.
Foot pain in elephants can mean constant pressure, throbbing heat, and difficulty shifting weight every hour.
Patty lives with a different kind of wound.
Elephants are intensely social, and isolation causes serious emotional distress.
Patty’s companion, Maxine, died in 2018.
Since then, Patty has lived without a partner.
She cannot share space with Happy at the zoo.
Experts agree that no zoo can meet the basic needs of an elephant.
The small space, the hard floors, the lack of a herd, and the endless confinement cause physical pain and emotional suffering that only get worse with age.
Happy and Patty have survived half a century of this.
A sanctuary can finally provide them with soft ground, open space, and the opportunity to spend time with other elephants on their own terms.
Please sign the petition calling on the Bronx Zoo to send Happy and Patty to an accredited sanctuary where they can finally live without constant pain and isolation.
Thank you for taking action on behalf of animals.
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