Toronto Zoo CEO wants to move elephants to Florida

The Toronto Zoo’s three elephants may be headed to a new home in Florida instead of a sanctuary in northern California after zoo officials raised concerns about the spread of disease — tuberculosis in particular —at the facility.

The fate of Iringa, Thika and Toka will once again be up for debate when city council meets next Tuesday and Wednesday. The executive committee, chaired by Mayor Rob Ford, is recommending councillors move the elephants to a new home as soon as possible and allow zoo staff to chose that new location.

There’s been a strong push to send the trio to a PAWS (Performing Animals Welfare Society) sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif. But a recent report conducted by Toronto Zoo staff raises concern that Iringa, Thika and Toka could become infected with TB if moved there.

Former Price is Right host Bob Barker is among those rallying for the trio’s relocation to California. The three are the zoo’s remaining elephants and four others have died since 2006.

A PAWS representative wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Toronto Zoo CEO Joe Tracogna has looked into moving the elephants — who’ve tested negative for TB — to the new National Elephant Center in Fellsmere, Fla., instead.

In its due diligence report, the zoo says six elephants have died over the past five years at the PAWS facility — in the two most-recent deaths the animals had tested positive for TB.

The zoo also raised concern about the other animals gaining access to the elephant pens, including stray cats, rodents and other wildlife, causing “concern both for the potential transmission from one group to the other as well as for the potential spread into the native deer population.”

“In the opinion of the Toronto Zoo’s veterinary staff, the prevalence of active and latent TB in the Asian elephants at PAWS is many times higher than that in the overall North American zoo elephant population,” the zoo report states. “This is not at all surprising since many of the animals were acquired from herds known to be infected.”

Five Toronto Zoo staff toured the PAWS facility in December 2011. The zoo says its representatives saw PAWS staff with face masks, suggesting some kind of quarantine measures were in place. The zoo says it later learned TB has been an issue at the facility.

The zoo also says its representatives were only given access to two of the five elephant barns and claims that PAWS provided delayed and incomplete information on the health of its elephants.

The Toronto Zoo also claims PAWS, which is responsible for moving the animals, doesn’t have an adequate transport plan in place. Last December, Barker offered to cover the transportation costs.

Where should these elephants retire? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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