Zoo won't release elephant birth video

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SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Animal rights activists have urged a Salt Lake City zoo to release a video of an elephant giving birth, suggesting it shows cruel treatment.

The video shows the elephant, Christy, chained by her front legs with two trainers standing nearby at the Hogle Zoo, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

Suzanne Roy, program director for In Defense of Animals, called chaining the elephant "cruel" and "barbaric."

"If they think it's an acceptable practice, they should release the video and let people judge for themselves," Roy said.

Holly Braithwaite, a zoo spokeswoman, said the video would be misconstrued on its own without a veterinarian explaining what was going on.

"The birth footage is internal video used for scientific review purposes," she said. "It's not something we chose to publicly release."

The board of directors of the Hogle Zoo viewed the video Monday.

Zoos have different policies on releasing such footage. Video of an elephant delivering a calf, unchained and surrounded by other members of her herd, at the Oregon Zoo has been viewed more than 20,000 times on YouTube.