Zoo director hopes for increased elephant breeding

Posted on March 5, 2015

Tetzloff feels more elephants are needed at zoos. (Flickr/Oyvind Solstad)

By Terry James

BLOOMINGTON – Barnum and Bailey Circus has decided to stop using elephants in their performances by 2018.

Miller Park Zoo Director Jay Tetzloff tells WJBC's Susan Saunders he hopes more elephants will be coming to zoos.

"It's not an ideal situation because you're hauling them all over the place for two or three days in a row," says Tetzloff. " I hope when they remove these elephants they will put some of these elephants in a breeding situation if they are young enough because there are not enough elephants to go around."

The elephants used in the circus acts will go to an elephant conservation area in Florida.

Tetzloff says he believes members of the circus are animal care professionals and does not think the elephants are being harmed.

Terry James can be reached at [email protected].

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