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Dear John,
Under the dim light of the Pittsburgh Zoo’s elephant barn, Moja gave birth on a concrete floor. Her calf, Zuri, entered the world surrounded not by the comfort, quiet, and safety provided by her mother and a family herd—but by steel gates, human voices, and the echo of clanging metal.
Before Zuri could even stand, a handler raised a bullhook—a sharp metal tool used to control elephants—and used it to steer Moja away from her and into a separate holding cell.
Zuri’s birth and the heartbreaking moments that followed were captured in the 2012 documentary, Elefamilia . The film shows Moja straining to reach her newborn, Zuri—banging on the gate that separates them and reaching her trunk out through the metal bars.
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On shaky legs, Zuri tried to walk toward her mother’s outstretched trunk, instinctively reaching out for her mother.
Moja is seen banging on the gate again and again before the handler shouts at her to calm down. Minutes pass before the handlers let Moja return to Zuri, once they decided she was ready.
Imagine … every single decision, every choice—from where she lives and who she spends time with, to whether she mates, where she gives birth, and whether she can comfort her own newborn just moments after giving birth—was taken from Moja. The same thing is set to happen to Zuri–unless a court intervenes to stop it.
Today, more than a decade after Zuri’s birth, the Pittsburgh Zoo plans to send Zuri to its breeding facility in Fairhope, Pennsylvania. It’s the same facility where her father is confined, and where she would be forced to breed under the same conditions her mother endured.
We’re fighting for her freedom.
When we filed our lawsuit to free all of the elephants at the Pittsburgh Zoo, we also filed a temporary restraining order to stop the transfer of Zuri and her sister Victoria to the zoo’s breeding facility pending the outcome of the litigation.
This Monday, the court will hold a hearing to decide whether to grant our temporary restraining order —a crucial step that could keep Zuri and Victoria from being sent away to be used for breeding while our fight for their freedom continues.
Please, stay tuned for updates—and help make sure her story is heard [[link removed]] .
Thank you,
The NhRP
Do you believe the Pittsburgh elephants deserve freedom and fundamental legal rights? Help make it possible by donating today to help power the legal fight. [[link removed]]
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The NhRP is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation (Tax ID #: 04-3289466). It is solely through your donations that we can continue to work for the recognition and protection of fundamental rights for nonhuman animals.
FOLLOW
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