THE ISSUE
Brookfield Zoo has refused to make public a report on the death earlier this year of Affie, a 40-year-old elephant.

OUR VIEW
While it may be legally entitled to keep this document private, the zoo should release it to members of the public.

SPEAK UP
Should officials at Brookfield Zoo release the report on what caused the death of Affie? Tell us what you think of this by leaving a comment below. You can also e-mail your comment here. Or leave a voice message at (630) 368-8882.

While Brookfield Zoo may be on solid legal ground for withholding the death report of one of its elephants, its rationale for doing so is flimsy.

The Forest Preserve District of Cook County owns the land used by Brookfield Zoo. However, the Chicago Zoological Society owns the animals, staffs the zoo and oversees the facility’s daily operations. With the CZS being a private entity, documents pertaining to the animals it owns wouldn’t be considered public records.

Affie, a 40-year-old African elephant, died May 15. Zoo officials said it appeared she suffered from heart disease.

The organization In Defense of Animals has been pressuring Brookfield Zoo to release the death report on Affie, a request that zoo officials have denied. An animal rights advocacy group, IDA opposes the captivity of wildlife such as elephants.

On Oct. 20, zoo officials indicated they would allow Suburban Life to review Affie’s death report. They revoked the invitation, however, after seeing an online version of a story regarding the IDA’s request to see the documents related to Affie’s death. The story was posted online Oct. 19.

Kim Smith, vice president of animal care for the CZS, defended the zoo’s policy of not releasing animal medical records.

“It would be like someone releasing the medical records of your grandfather,” Smith said.

Smith is off base. Humans have personal privacy concerns regarding their own medical records.
Animals in zoos don’t share these sensitivities with humans. Medical records would show what kind of care animals are receiving, which would say a lot about the humans caring for the animals.

If the zoo was willing to allow a news organization access to Affie’s death records, why pull back? We can’t be certain the zoo has anything to hide, but we also can’t imagine why else it would be reluctant to make such documents public.