An Entertainment Abuses Article used with permission from All-Creatures.org

Fleur Dawes reports on the disturbing news that the Phoenix Zoo plans to kill the lonely and suffering elephant Indu rather than give her the opportunity to live out the rest of her life in a sanctuary.

Phoenix Zoo Plans to Kill Elephant Indu & Dismember Her Body for Removal
From Fleur Dawes, IDA In Defense of Animals, idausa.org
May 2025

Advocates are distraught by an anonymous tip that Phoenix Zoo plans to imminently kill desperately lonely Indu. Photos from In Defense of Animals (photo credit: Phoenix Zoo/Facebook and In Defense of Animals)

PHOENIX, Ariz. (May 2, 2025) — In Defense of Animals has learned of an appalling plan by the Phoenix Zoo to kill Indu, its solitary 59-year-old Asian elephant — and then cut her body in half to remove her from the facility. This shocking act of zoothanasia has sparked outrage from the animal protection organization, which is urgently calling for the zoo to spare Indu’s life and transfer her to a legitimate sanctuary.

“We are horrified by the Phoenix Zoo’s plan to kill Indu and desecrate her body for disposal,” said Fleur Dawes, Communications Director of In Defense of Animals. “Indu has endured decades of isolation and confinement. She deserves the chance to retire in peace — not be executed in secrecy and discarded like trash.”

Indu has been solitary since Reba and Sheena died years ago, confined to a small, barren exhibit with no deep pool and inadequate shade from Arizona’s punishing heat. Earlier this year, the Phoenix Zoo was ranked No. 10 on In Defense of Animals’ 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants in North America. It has contunually failed to provide Indu with the space, stimulation and social companionship that she lacks.

Watch Indu showing stereotypical stress behavior

On April 12, 2025, passionate protestors rallied at the Phoenix Zoo to encourage the zoo to retire Indu, delivering a letter signed more than 22,000 times urging the Phoenix Zoo to send Indu to sanctuary. Following its most recent placement on the 10 Worst Zoos list in January, the zoo announced plans to close its elephant exhibit once Indu dies, but has refused to allow her a chance to live free in a sanctuary while she is still alive.

Watch protestors rally for Indu

“The Phoenix Zoo should not wait for Indu to die — or worse, actively kill her. Sanctuary should be considered as a humane alternative,” said Courtney Scott, Elephant Consultant for In Defense of Animals. “She still has time to experience the joy of walking on grass, bathing in deep water, and forming bonds with other elephants. Indu’s life matters, and we must give her the dignity she has been denied for far too long.”

In Defense of Animals is urgently calling on the Phoenix Zoo to immediately halt any plans to kill Indu and instead do the right thing by transferring her to a reputable sanctuary.

Members of the public are urged to tell the Phoenix Zoo to send Indu to sanctuary.

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Posted on All-Creatures.org: May 8, 2025
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