{"id":938961,"date":"2019-08-21T06:19:03","date_gmt":"2019-08-21T13:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/?p=938961"},"modified":"2019-08-22T07:53:27","modified_gmt":"2019-08-22T14:53:27","slug":"aza-bullhook-ban-progress-captive-elephants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/news\/aza-bullhook-ban-progress-captive-elephants\/","title":{"rendered":"Progress for Captive Elephants! AZA Zoos Ditch Bullhooks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Progress for captive elephants! <\/strong>The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) just announced<\/a> a new policy to phase out the use of bullhooks<\/strong><\/a>\u2014heavy batons with a sharp metal hook on one end\u2014to train or control elephants in zoos. The long-overdue AZA bullhook ban will end the routine use of these weapons by January 21, 2021, and end all<\/em> use of them by January 1, 2023. In the policy, the AZA states that “bullhooks are not acceptable as daily management tools.” It also says that a “strong majority” of AZA zoos have already stopped using bullhooks and support getting rid of them. We couldn’t agree more.<\/p>\n

Bullhooks are used to beat and jab elephants. During training, elephants are struck, jabbed, poked, prodded, and even beaten with this sharp weapon. Eventually, even the sight of it elicits fear and full compliance. Bullhooks are frequently used by circus handlers (as shown in the photo below), but you may be surprised to learn that zoos also have a history of using these cruel devices to control elephants.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"\/\n<\/figure>\n

This bullhook ban has been years in the making. Nearly a decade ago, in August 2010, the AZA announced a policy to end what’s known as “free contact” management of elephants, in which handlers work directly alongside elephants and are always armed with a bullhook, as is done in the circus. Instead, keepers were required to be separated from the animals by a protective barrier, except in limited circumstances. In this form of management, called “protected” or “restricted contact,” elephants are trained using rewards\u2014not punishment\u2014and can choose whether or not they want to participate in training. That policy\u2014which was characterized as a worker-safety measure instead of an animal welfare initiative\u2014was phased in over many years and was in full effect by 2017. However, the policy did not<\/em> go so far as to ban the use of bullhooks entirely. While many zoos haven’t used these weapons in years, a few have continued to do so, even in cases of restricted contact.<\/p>\n

This decision marks a watershed moment for captive elephants and relegates zoos’ use of bullhooks\u2014which cause fear and are already illegal in many cities and two states<\/a>\u2014to the history books. PETA has campaigned long and hard against the use of these cruel weapons and looks forward to seeing the AZA continue to make positive changes for elephants, including by opposing the importation of ones taken from their homelands and families.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n\"AZA\n<\/figure>\n

Want to Do More?<\/h2>\n\r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t
Take Action for Captive Elephants Now<\/a><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Progress for captive elephants! After years of PETA pressure, AZA zoos will phase out the use of bullhooks. Learn more about this long-overdue development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":746139,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","beyondwords_generate_audio":"","beyondwords_integration_method":"","beyondwords_project_id":"","beyondwords_content_id":"","beyondwords_preview_token":"","beyondwords_player_content":"","beyondwords_player_style":"","beyondwords_language_code":"","beyondwords_language_id":"","beyondwords_title_voice_id":"","beyondwords_body_voice_id":"","beyondwords_summary_voice_id":"","beyondwords_error_message":"","beyondwords_disabled":"","beyondwords_delete_content":"","beyondwords_podcast_id":"","beyondwords_hash":"","publish_post_to_speechkit":"","speechkit_hash":"","speechkit_generate_audio":"","speechkit_project_id":"","speechkit_podcast_id":"","speechkit_error_message":"","speechkit_disabled":"","speechkit_access_key":"","speechkit_error":"","speechkit_info":"","speechkit_response":"","speechkit_retries":"","speechkit_status":"","speechkit_updated_at":"","_speechkit_link":"","_speechkit_text":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[22,27,32],"tags":[],"placement":[447],"section":[],"class_list":["post-938961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animals-in-entertainment","category-elephants","category-zoos","placement-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAZA Bullhook Ban Means Progress for Captive Elephants | PETA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After years of PETA pressure, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums has announced a policy to phase out the use of bullhooks to control elephants in zoos.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/news\/aza-bullhook-ban-progress-captive-elephants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AZA Bullhook Ban Means Progress for Captive Elephants | PETA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After years of PETA pressure, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums has announced a policy to phase out the use of bullhooks to control elephants in zoos.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/news\/aza-bullhook-ban-progress-captive-elephants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PETA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/officialpeta\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-08-21T13:19:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-08-22T14:53:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iStock_elephant_playtime_pjmalsbury__1423265253_144.223.39.42.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"817\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"588\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Danny Prater\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@peta\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@peta\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Danny Prater\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/news\/aza-bullhook-ban-progress-captive-elephants\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/news\/aza-bullhook-ban-progress-captive-elephants\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Danny Prater\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/#\/schema\/person\/a8845085e79c9d477f3e4ea51a5921bd\"},\"headline\":\"Progress for Captive Elephants! 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