Today, with no reasons given, Judge Alan Hertzberg denied the Nonhuman Rights Project’s request for a temporary restraining order to prevent the Pittsburgh Zoo from moving siblings Victoria and Zuri to the zoo’s elephant breeding facility. Below is our statement. 

During today’s hearing, lawyers for the Pittsburgh Zoo used the same tired arguments and false statements that come up in all our lawsuits to try to prevent our litigation seeking the elephants’ right to liberty from moving forward. They also announced during the hearing that Victoria and Zuri had already been moved to the zoo’s breeding facility. This move was made on October 27th, six days after we filed our lawsuit, with no public announcement. The zoo’s words and actions show that zoo leadership has no concern for the mental and physical anguish these elephants are forced to endure on a daily basis–anguish that’s even worse for the elephants used in captive breeding. The zoo cares only about being in compliance with bare-minimum regulations that preserve the zoo’s ability to deprive elephants of their autonomy. We’ll continue to fight for the elephants’ autonomy to be restored.

Access the NhRP’s media kit, including court filings and photos and videos of the elephants for use in media coverage (credit Molly Condit).Visit the elephants’ client page including the elephants’ biographies and information about the exhibitIn early 2025, a Pittsburgh-based national animal advocacy group called the Christian Animal Rights Association created a Change.org petition urging the director of the Pittsburgh Zoo to release the elephants to a sanctuary. It currently has over 13,000 signatures.The Pittsburgh Zoo has been included on In Defense of Animals’ list of “10 Worst Zoos for Elephants in North America” in 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2020.

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