Feds move ahead on elephant import decision

The government will not take any more public comments on importing African elephants to three American zoos, including the Sedgwick County Zoo.

The deadline passed earlier in the week for the public to comment on the permits to import 18 elephants from two national parks in Swaziland, in southern Africa, to zoos in Dallas, Omaha and Wichita.

Animal rights groups opposed to the import had requested a 60-day extension for the comment period, which would have essentially delayed the decision into next year and disrupted the zoos’ time line for settling the elephants into their potential new homes.

“We believe the 30-day comment period provides sufficient time for comments to be submitted,” said Laury Parramore, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency responsible for issuing the permits.

A total of 8,112 comments were submitted between Oct. 22 and Nov. 23.

Closure of the comment period means the import decision could come before the end of the year. There’s no set time line, but officials hope to reach an official decision soon.

Officials with the three zoos had originally hoped to get their elephants before the end of the year.

The Sedgwick County Zoo plans to open the Elephants of the Zambezi River Valley exhibit during Memorial Day weekend in 2016.

To meet standards set by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the zoo needs to have at least three females, two males or three elephants of mixed gender by September 2016.

It has only one elephant right now, Stephanie. The import would send six elephants to each of the three zoos.

Animal rights groups were disappointed that the comment period was not lengthened.

“Our request was simply to give people the time to research and provide substantive comments to the agency,” said Rachel Matthews, a lawyer with PETA. “It was a reasonable request and it’s unfortunate it was denied.”

She criticized the zoos, saying they were trying to rush the import through as winter approaches.

“These elephants could be confined inside of a barn for months on end,” Matthews said.

Carney Anne Nasser, a lawyer for the Animal Legal Defense Fund who wrote the letter asking for the extension, said the groups found out about the rejection Nov. 20.

“We scrambled to put together the best, most comprehensive legal analysis in the time frame that we have,” Nasser said.

Nasser said opponents will look at their legal options after the Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision, especially if the agency approves the permits.

“The ball is in Fish and Wildlife Services’ court,” she said.

Animal welfare groups sued the last time the government approved import permits for Swazi elephants in 2003. They were unsuccessful and 11 elephants were shipped to zoos in San Diego and Tampa.

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 5:23 PM with the headline "Feds move ahead on elephant import decision."