Elephants should be free.
In zoos across the US, elephants are being imprisoned and exploited for human gain. Help us expose the reality of elephant captivity in the US zoo system and bring it to an end.
Using the map below and the elephant index on this site, learn about the over 250 elephants who are currently held captive in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and how they are suffering.
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Buttonwood Park Zoo
The Buttonwood Park Zoo currently holds one Asian elephant in captivity. The key issues at this facility include a lack of space for the elephant in their care and lack of social opportunities for its lone elephant.
Featured Elephant: Emily
Emily is a wild-born Asian elephant who was captured and taken from her familial herd in 1968 when she was just a few years old. That same year, she was imported to the United States and sent to the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, MA, where she has been confined for 55 years. Emily is confined alone and suffers from the facility’s lack of sufficient space and from being unable to engage in her natural behaviors.
Take Action Today
Free to Be Elephants is dedicated to raising awareness of the realities of elephant captivity, but our work doesn’t end there. Elephants are depending on us to correct the grave injustice of their imprisonment. Please take action today to help us secure freedom for elephants in the US.
