Seattle sued over treatment of elephants

SEATTLE, June 30 (UPI) -- The city of Seattle has been named in a civil lawsuit alleging treatment of three elephants at the city's zoo violates anti-cruelty laws.

The plaintiffs -- Mary Sebek of Seattle and Nancy Farnam of Edmonds, Wash. -- are being represented in the suit by the Animal Legal Defense fund, The Seattle Times reported Tuesday.

Sebek and Farnam called the elephants' treatment "inhumane and unlawful," saying the zoo's facilities -- a one-acre enclosure and a barn -- are inadequate to meet the animals' need to walk extensively, and have resulted in their suffering chronic foot and joint problems.

"The zoo continues to keep elephants, despite its inability to meet their basic needs, because it believes that elephants ... are a marquee attraction that fosters ticket sales and donations," the suit says.

Sebek said she would like to see the animals to moved to the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn., which has more than 2,700 acres of open space.

Deputy zoo director Bruce Bohmke said he had not seen the suit and could not comment, the Times reported.