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.

For over half a century, Emily has endured a life of deprivation in a small, unnatural environment that fails to meet her complex physical, emotional, and social needs. In the wild, elephants roam vast distances, form deep social bonds, and engage in a wide range of natural behaviors. Emily, however, has been denied these fundamental freedoms. Except for two years spent at another zoo, she has been confined to a tiny enclosure at the Buttonwood Park Zoo, unable to exercise any real autonomy.

The Buttonwood Park Zoo has repeatedly been named one of the worst zoos for elephants. Throughout her confinement at the zoo, Emily has been forced to participate in gimmicky stunts, such as playing the drums and going to a Dunkin’ Donuts. During New England’s harsh winters, Emily is confined to a small indoor space, unable to engage in natural behaviors such as dust bathing, foraging, or wallowing in mud. Her enclosure, both indoors and outdoors, is woefully inadequate, offering little to no environmental enrichment. The physical and psychological toll of decades in captivity is evident. Emily exhibits stereotypic behaviors, such as swaying and rocking, which are signs of deep distress and frustration. She also suffers from numerous captivity-related ailments such as osteoarthritis and foot disease.

From 1968 to 1983–nearly two decades–Emily was held in solitary confinement. In 1983, Emily was moved to the Baton Rouge Zoo in Louisiana after the U.S. Department of Agriculture found the Buttonwood Park Zoo to be in violation of animal welfare regulations related to Emily’s care and the dilapidated barn she was housed in. While confined at the Baton Rouge Zoo, Emily was attacked by another Asian elephant and subjected to cruel training by keepers who had circus backgrounds. In 1985, Emily was transferred back to the Buttonwood Park Zoo, where she has remained held captive since.

In 1986, the zoo acquired Ruth, another wild-born Asian elephant. Emily and Ruth were confined together until Ruth’s death in 2024, but their relationship was fraught with conflict. Emily often displayed aggression toward Ruth, behavior that is not uncommon among captive elephants who are forced into unnatural social groupings and subjected to chronic stress. In 2024, Ruth was euthanized, leaving Emily alone once again. Despite public outcry and calls for her retirement to an accredited sanctuary, the zoo has continued to keep Emily in isolation.

The Buttonwood Park Zoo still has the opportunity to do the right thing: release Emily to an accredited elephant sanctuary where she can live in a natural habitat, form social bonds on her own terms, and finally experience the freedom she has been denied for 57 years. After a lifetime of suffering, Emily deserves dignity, peace, and the chance to simply be an elephant.