NEW - Deputation To The Toronto Zoo Board of Management:

February 14 2011

Dear Chair and New Members of the Toronto Zoo Board:

My Name is Miguel Avila, A proud Latino Canadian and an Etobicoke resident.

Thank you for letting me speak on Item ZB 1.3 “Petition Regarding
Elephants at the Toronto Zoo”. As a regular visitor to the Toronto Zoo my
children and I love to see the magnificent elephants roaming in their 1.5 acre
enclosure during the warmer months of the year. In fact, we were at the
Toronto Zoo last week to take advantage of the great weather.

However, in our last visit my oldest daughter asked me if the elephants come
out during the winter. I replied that no, they are kept mainly indoors and,
depending on weather conditions, are let out to walk infrequently. My smart
daughter then asked if it wasn't cruel to keep animals inside without exercise
during the winter. I was surprised by her question, as we have a pet dog that
goes outside for his daily walk, even in the coldest winter day. We put on his
dog coat, mittens and scarf, head out to the dog park and he is happy to go
out.

Elephants, on the other hand, do not have a coat, mittens or scarf and can
end up quite sick if left outside for too long. My daughter then wondered if
the Toronto Zoo would build a giant house, large enough for the elephants to
walk in, a great idea and something that should be considered by the Toronto
Zoo Board.

On March 04 2010, in an article by Inside Toronto (Toronto Community

News), Former Board Member,Councillor De Baeremaeker suggested
replacing the existing elephant exhibit with a $15 million interactive display.
Zoo Check Canada also made this suggestion to City Councilors at the August
26, 2010 City Council meeting and a petition was submitted on behalf of
more than 1,518 concerned Torontonians by Councilor Carroll to City Council,
which deferred Item RM 52.4 to the Toronto Zoo Board.

It is also my understanding that the organization In Defense of the Animals

(IDA) contacted Councilor Cho in December 2009, sounding the alarm for the
need to deal with the future welfare of the elephants at the Toronto Zoo .
And on January 2010 the Toronto Zoo made headlines in the local media
when it was reported that they made the list of the worst Zoo in North
America.

In February 2010, in response to the calls from IDA and Zoo Check Canada,
the Toronto Zoo Board decided to invest $40 million to expand the existing
elephant facility.

Between then and now perhaps some wonder if $40 million was too high a
price for this project, in view of the fact that the Toronto Zoo has embarked
on other projects like the Panda Exhibit at over $15 million dollars.
Remember also that the Toronto Zoo is asking the City for an additional
$500,000 (to $4.5 Million) for capital improvements in 2011 and is expected
to increase capital cost requests significantly to $6 Million starting in 2012.
These additional funding requests will not happen, in my opinion The City has
a shortfall of $744 million dollars in 2012.
However, the Zoo decided to conduct a feasibility study as a first step to deal
with the future of the elephants. Zoo staff put the contracting of consulting
service out for tender on July 14, 2010, and on August 13, 2010 a contractor
was awarded the contract. It is my hope and expectation that Lord Cultural
Resources - the contractor - would consult with potential stakeholders and
knowledgeable people on this issue and ask their opinion. I hope to see Zoo
Check Canada and other members of the community involved in the
consultation process as well. According to the Request for Proposal the
scheduled work should have started on August 16. Finally, I wonder how
much work has been done so far, and at what cost to Toronto taxpayers.
Respect to Taxpayers anyone?

It is also my hope that the Toronto Zoo Board, upon receiving the
recommendation of Lord Cultural Resources to the elephant study, would
also engage the public to make their own recommendations through a
citizen's advisory committee for the Zoo. Such a committee would provide
honest, sincere and realistic opinions to the Toronto Zoo Board.

On September 27, 2010 an article appeared in Metro News, based on a report

released by the Metcalf Foundation entitled “Fertile Ground for a New
Thinking: Improving Toronto’s Parks". Like parks in general, the Toronto Zoo
should consider ideas such as a Citizens Advisory Committee. Just imagine
what would happen if the City embraced more of each local community’s
ideas and energy -- it could lead to improvements, states the author of the
report. Just imagine indeed!

There is plenty of information out there on the elephant's struggle for survival
at Toronto Zoo. One of my favorites is the article that appeared in the July
2010 edition of Toronto Life Magazine entitled “What The Elephants Know,
The Troubled Lives Of Elephants At The Toronto Zoo". It is worth including
this article in the submission by Lord Cultural Resources as a reference
study.

I asked last week ,ZOO Management for an up to date report here is an

excerpt of the reply I received by email:

You ( Mr Avila) requested through the City Clerks Office the report or work
completed to date by Lord Cultural Resources, the consultants hired by
the Zoo on the elephant study. This report is in progress and will not be
made public until the report is considered by the Board, which is expected to
be by June 2011. Until the report is considered by the Board, it is not public
information and can not be accessed through the freedom of information
process. The question is to you Board Members: Is the Elephant Future to be
reconsider again on June 2011?
Thank you for this opportunity to voice my opinion on the elephant issue. I
can assure you that I will monitor the progress of the elephant study with
great interest.

Sincerely yours,

Miguel Avila