IDAEZ Celebrity Supporters

Lily Tomlin

It's time to stop keeping elephants in zoos, where they are suffering and dying prematurely purely as a result of their captivity in small and unnatural displays. That's why I'm urging everyone to get involved in the International Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos on June 19th, a unique outreach event that brings the world together to stop the suffering of elephants in zoos.

The issue is simple: As the Earth's largest land mammals, elephants need room to roam, side by side with other elephants, in a rich, natural environment that challenges their keen intellect. Yet zoos ignore all that we know about elephants' complex needs, instead confining them to tiny, barren pens that destroy their spirits, deaden their minds and damage their bodies.

Steve Guttenberg

In Africa, for instance, the elephant is one of the kings of the jungle. They roam freely, and with abandon. Their lives are as they were intended to be. When I see an elephant in a zoo, swaying back and force in a tiny space, I don't learn anything other than this is no way to treat Earth's largest land mammals. This is not education. This is not conservation. These animals are happiest and healthiest when they are in the wild. Please support IDA's International Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos by participating in an event near you.

Jorja Fox

Hi, Jorja Fox here asking you to support this year's International Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos. These magnificent, magical creatures are some of the world's smartest and also one of the world's most endangered animals. Yet they have long suffered from man’s brutality, including in zoos. Let's evolve beyond zoos. They are arcane, cruel and a tragic waste of an elephant's life. We need to put the focus where it belongs – on protecting elephants in their natural habitats – and stop wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on artificial and inadequate zoo displays that will never meet their needs. Instead of cruel confinement and domination, let's offer sanctuary, peace, compassion and hope. The elephants are depending on us, our children our looking to us, and our very own survival as a species depends on it.

Elaine Hendrix

Elephants are absolutely magnificent. The largest land mammals on the planet - with sensitive emotions, a high intelligence and complex social structures. Whoever thinks it's a good idea to put them zoos...let them live for even one day in the equivalent setting as these elephants do, and let's see if they still think it's a good idea.

Dick Donner

As the producer of the film Free Willy, I understand what it's like for an intelligent, free-roaming animal to be kept in unendurable confinement. The issue for elephants is much the same, as they also are denied space and natural social networks in their barren prisons, as well as their freedom and dignity. Unfortunately, the decision to keep these animals in unconscionable conditions is a political one made by the USDA and all federal and state agencies supposedly entrusted to safeguard and protect elephants. Their decisions are politically prone rather than humanely motivated. Examples are the USDA decision to place Queenie in the San Antonio Zoo despite the utterly inadequate conditions for elephants at that zoo; and in Los Angeles, politically motivated L.A. City Councilmembers' decision that Billy, the lone elephant, should live the rest of his life in seclusion at the L.A. Zoo. Politics has totally corrupted the belief in humanity for animals. So please participate in the International Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos. Every time you take action, you represent hope for the elephants and, by extension, all the wild animals suffering in captivity.