Paignton Zoo in Devon has confirmed that it will no longer keep elephants because it can’t provide the “necessary environment” for the “highly intelligent” animals.
Paignton Zoo used to keep two elephants, Asian elephant Gay, who died in 2010, and African elephant Duchess, who died in 2019. However, the zoo will not replace Duchess and Gay.
“Elephants are highly intelligent and have very complex social and behavioural needs, so when Duchess, our last elephant, died in 2019, we announced that we would no longer keep elephants at Paignton Zoo,” it said in a statement.
“As much as we loved Duchess (and her companion, Gay, who died in 2010) and as popular as she was with our visitors, we do not believe that we can provide the necessary environment for elephants here at Paignton.”
Paignton Zoo will not replace Duchess and Gay
Paignton Zoo said it continues “to support elephant conservation in the wild, and has been working to protect the Omo Forest Reserve in Nigeria since 1997″, which is “one of the last remaining places in Nigeria where forest elephants still survive”.
“Visitors are therefore still helping protect elephants when they visit our zoo, even though we no longer have any here,” the zoo added.
Last year, it was reported that keeping elephants in zoos or safari parks in the UK would be phased out following claims that the animals suffer from mental illness in captivity.
Legislation would prohibit importation of any new elephants, and the existing population would be allowed to die out naturally. It has been illegal for circuses to keep elephants since January 2020.
Elsewhere, Dublin Zoo has opened a new habitat for red pandas and snow leopards known as the Himalayan Hills, an immersive area inspired by a Nepalese village and the Himalayan mountain range.
Images: Paignton Zoo
