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PETA slams zoo over death of baby elephant, wants license revoked

PITTSBURGH — Channel 11 is digging into allegations made by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals against the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.

A baby elephant that wowed crowds at the zoo in the summer of 2017 died just a month after being put on display.

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Now PETA wants the zoo's license revoked over its death.

Federal inspections were performed in July 2017 at the Highland Park zoo and its conservation center in Somerset County where the baby elephant was born.

Here's a timeline of the elephant's birth and subsequent health issues

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Reports that PETA released Wednesday night cite inadequate staffing at the center and that the site was not adequately prepared to provide 24/7 care for the calf, which was born a month premature.

When inspectors visited the calf at the zoo, they found hazards including electrical wires on wet ground where the calf walked and that the calf had access to a utility room that contained many hazards, including bottles of bleach.

PETA  is calling for an end to the elephant breeding program as well as the revocation of the zoo's federal license.

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In a statement, the zoo said the report PETA references is not the USDA’s final report related to the calf but a preliminary report which was amended following the completion of the investigation.

"We are confident that every decision we made was in the baby elephant's best interest and we exhausted every option available," the zoo said.

When the baby elephant's health worsened, the zoo took her off display and kept the public informed on their efforts to save her life.

 

Cox Media Group

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