An Allegheny County judge has denied a petition to stop the transfer of two of Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium’s younger elephants to a breeding facility.

In October, the Nonhuman Rights Project, a Washington, D.C.-based animal-rights nonprofit, sued Zoological Society of Pittsburgh and zoo President and CEO Jeremy Goodman, demanding the release of its elephants from captivity, stating they have the “fundamental right to bodily liberty.”

On Monday, Judge Alan Hertzberg denied the nonprofit’s petition to keep elephant sisters Victoria and Zuri from being moved to the zoo’s Conservation Center, located in Fairhope, Somerset County, according to court documents.

Jake Davis, the Nonhuman Rights Project’s attorney, said that they found out at Monday morning’s hearing that both Zuri and Victoria had already been transferred last month.

“Unfortunately, it turns out that the elephants were moved a number of weeks ago, which we learned today, because the zoo did not make that public news and they didn’t tell us either,” Davis said. “The zoo wasn’t obligated to tell us about the transfer, but they were aware of an ongoing lawsuit.”

The zoo had announced the elephants’ impending transfer on Oct. 15, in a news release.

“In a move that was two years in the making, elephant sisters Victoria and Zuri were safely moved from the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium to the International Conservation Center on Oct. 27,” said a Pittsburgh Zoo spokesperson in a statement.

Davis called the transfer “insidious” because the transfer took place after the Nonhuman Rights Project’s filings.

Prior to the transfer the zoo had five elephants. Angeline, Victoria and Zuri were all born into captivity at the zoo, while Savanna and Tasha were wild African savanna elephants who were removed from their herds, according to the lawsuit.

In 2020, TribLive reported the zoo had been in violation of the terms of its lease, which required the zoo to be accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

The accreditation was revoked between 2015 — when the zoo declined to abide by the association’s safety protocols for elephant handling — and 2024, when the zoo announced it had earned its accreditation back from the association, according to a news release.

“We’re very upset that they were moved and that they now are going to be subjected to captive breeding, and had to endure this traumatic transfer that separated them from elephants who they formed lifelong bonds with,” said Courtney Fern, director of government relations and campaigns for Nonhuman Rights Project.

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