“Following last week’s death of a female infant elephant at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, the Save Wild Elephants Coalition (of which IDA is a member) renewed their call for an end to the captive breeding and capture of elephants from the wild for display in zoos. The young pachyderm who died was born to a female who was one of 11 elephants captured in 2003 from the African country of Swaziland, and was euthanized at the San Diego Zoo after becoming severely ill. The Coalition opposed the import of these elephants before they were taken from their homeland for display in the U.S., and charges that this tragic incident is just one more piece of evidence pointing to the failure of U.S. zoos’ elephant breeding and display programs.” - IDA eNews

“San Diego Wild Animal Park officials and the eight-member herd of African elephants that live there celebrated two anniversaries last week. Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of the herd’s predawn arrival at the park, after having traveled by air for a day and a half from a Swaziland game reserve. The delivery was the first time in 20 years that wild African elephants had been imported to the United States.” - North County Times

“Four members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals were arrested Thursday after they stormed into zoos in San Diego and Tampa to protest the importation of elephants from Swaziland.” - NBCSandiego.com

“An animal rights coalition has until Thursday to appeal a judge’s refusal to halt the transfer of 11 African elephants from Swaziland to two U.S. zoos.” - USATODAY

“Plans by two zoos to import 11 African elephants from Swaziland beginning next month have sparked an international battle between animal rights groups and the U.S. government.” - USATODAY

“The San Diego Zoo prevailed yesterday over animal-rights groups that had attempted to block plans to import endangered African elephants from Swaziland to the United States. ” - SignOnSanDiego.com

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said a plan to import 11 African elephants to San Diego and Florida will be good for the Swaziland parks where the animals are located and won’t harm the elephants, as critics have charged. ” - SignOnSanDiego.com

“A coalition of animal rights and wildlife preservation groups said on Tuesday that they had blocked - at least temporarily - two United States zoos from importing African elephants from a Swaziland reserve.” - IOL

“Time is running out for Swaziland to sell eleven ”orphaned” elephants to zoos in the United States, even if the sale means incurring the wrath of powerful animal rights organisations.” - Inter Press Service News Agency