The elephant sanctuary just posted the following on their Facebook page: "The physical toll of a life in captivity is undeniable for elephants. In the wild, elephants exercise their feet by digging and walking long distances on varied topography. This activity keeps their feet healthy, supple and able to support their weight. Even under the most loving care in captivity, without the opportunity to roam and exhibit natural behaviors, uneven pressure distribution and shock absorption can lead to toenail cracks, sole overgrowth, trauma, osteomyelitis, ankylosis of the joints, and osteoarthritis. Foot disease is a leading cause of death in captive elephants, and a crucial aspect of elephant husbandry at The Sanctuary. At The Sanctuary, Caregivers go through extensive foot care trainings to learn about elephant foot anatomy, foot problems in captive elephants, management techniques, and preventative care. Care Staff check each elephants’ feet several times a week to set foot care priorities and conduct weekly foot scrubs on each individual elephant. They also take base line radiographs and keep a photo diary of each elephant’s feet to watch for gradual changes through the seasons and years. Training walls in the barn and corrals in the habitat ensure that foot care can be safely conducted throughout the year." Isn't this inaccurate? Don't all AZA zoos with elephants check their feet and scrub them DAILY (as opposed to the sanctuary doing it several times a week)? I don't know if AZA zoos also do the thing with radiographs, and photo diaries, but I think its ridiculous how the sanctuary claims to be doing better care for elephants than zoos are, when zoos do footcare more often than the sanctuaries do. They accompanied the post with a picture of an elephant at a training wall. If a zoo posted a similar photo, there would be a very sour reaction among most of the public, but because the sanctuary posted it, it is fine. It bothers me so much how just the terms sanctuary and zoo can define so much about how these places are seen.
That place goes out of its way to be inaccurate.Admitting otherwise would set them further from their goal of forcing their limited worldview on everyone else. And just because they use fancy technology doesn't mean that their foot care is any better than that provided at any other facility. I've learned that studying human healthcare; animals aren't any different. It seems as if that place goes out of its way conspicuously spend money on this or that fancy technology in order to make others look bad. Fun fact, it was a Zoo that invented protected contact, not those folk (forgive me I can't bring myself to use their name.) Something tells me that if a zoo were using radiography the way they are there would be cries of "unnecessary exposure to radiation" or something along those lines.
