Dunda

I applaud the San Diego County Edition of The Times for its accurate, detailed coverage of "The Dunda Episode." The Times was steadfast in pointing out the plain, simple, indisputable truth: that Dunda was never properly prepared for the move from the San Diego Zoo to the Wild Animal Park and that she was beaten for days while chained to the ground on her knees. No matter how hard the Zoological Society of San Diego and other guilty parties try to rationalize the episode--sweep it under the rug, blame The Times for its honest reporting--the obscene judgment shown by management and handlers, the extreme cruelty involved, stands out like a dagger in the public heart.

A state senator has asked the San Diego County district attorney to file a complaint against the San Diego Zoological Society for allegedly violating a state law that protects employees who report their bosses' wrongdoing. Sen. Dan McCorquodale (D-San Jose) said Wednesday that he met with Dist. Atty.

If keepers involved in Dunda's "discipline" report "nausea and sleeplessness as a result of their participation" in her punishment, it seems to indicate that human conscience has deemed the action immoral. It therefore doesn't matter how many commissions find the animal's treatment legitimate. To the contrary, if indeed these are accepted practices for training elephants, perhaps they shouldn't be. Rules can be changed if they are wrong. JUDITH GRANT Long Beach

A year after the beating of Dunda the elephant erupted into a public controversy, the elephant staff at the San Diego Wild Animal Park has been decimated, largely by voluntary transfers, forcing major changes in the management of elephants at the park.

The discipline applied by San Diego Wild Animal Park keepers to Dunda the elephant in February, 1988, exceeded acceptable measures under federal regulations concerning the handling of animals, the U.S. Department of Agriculture concludes in a letter of warning to the Zoological Society of San Diego. The April 6 letter said that results of an investigation by the department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) show "repeated disciplinary measures" on Feb. 17 and 18, 1988, to the 18-year-old female African elephant "did cause bruising and damage to the skin on the elephant's head and signs of behavioral stress."

After reading the horrible stories about the unbelievable treatment of Dunda I am in shock. We who support these so-called zoos, should show Roocroft how we feel by simply staying away. I know that I shall never attend myself, nor shall I take my friends to see the "docile Dunda," or her friends again. How could we? EVA M. DAVIS-LEAL Pasadena

Discipline exceeding acceptable levels was applied by San Diego Wild Animal Park keepers to Dunda the elephant in February, 1988, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has concluded in a letter of warning to the Zoological Society of San Diego. The April 6 letter said that results of an investigation by the department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service show "repeated disciplinary measures" on Feb. 17 and 18, 1988, to the 18-year-old female African elephant "did cause bruising and damage to the skin on the elephant's head and signs of behavioral stress."

I am deeply disappointed in the San Diego County edition of The Times for the melodramatic tenor and piecemeal presentation of its stories about allegations of abuse to the African elephant "Dunda" at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. In repeatedly focusing on these allegations, with their inherent inaccuracies and distortions, The Times is playing to the emotions of its readers while overlooking the reality of the unique nature and needs of our largest land mammals and the people who care for them.

The state Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would make it a misdemeanor for handlers to physically abuse elephants, legislation triggered by the treatment of Dunda the elephant at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. The proposed legislation, which now faces an uncertain future in the Assembly, passed, 31 to 4, over the vigorous objection of state Sen. Larry Stirling (R-San Diego), who claimed that "scurrilous charges" against Wild Animal Park personnel inspired the bill. "In fact, the elephant in San Diego was treated appropriately," Stirling told his colleagues during debate on the Senate floor.

The discipline applied by San Diego Wild Animal Park keepers to Dunda the elephant in February, 1988, exceeded acceptable measures under federal regulations concerning the handling of animals, the U.S. Department of Agriculture concludes in a letter of warning to the Zoological Society of San Diego. The April 6 letter said that results of an investigation by the department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) show "repeated disciplinary measures" on Feb. 17 and 18, 1988, to the 18-year-old female African elephant "did cause bruising and damage to the skin on the elephant's head and signs of behavioral stress."

Discipline exceeding acceptable levels was applied by San Diego Wild Animal Park keepers to Dunda the elephant in February, 1988, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has concluded in a letter of warning to the Zoological Society of San Diego. The April 6 letter said that results of an investigation by the department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service show "repeated disciplinary measures" on Feb. 17 and 18, 1988, to the 18-year-old female African elephant "did cause bruising and damage to the skin on the elephant's head and signs of behavioral stress."

The homes of three San Diego Wild Animal Park elephant keepers were vandalized, and members of the underground Animal Liberation Front on Friday claimed responsibility for the attacks in retaliation for the beating of Dunda the elephant. The activists painted slogans on the homes sometime between 11 p.m. Thursday and 5 a.m. Friday and doused the trainers' cars with paint stripper and red paint. The sidewalk in front of one of the trainers' homes bore the words "Dunda's Revenge!"

The American Assn. of Zoological Parks and Aquariums has decided not to cite the Zoological Society of San Diego for ethics violations in the beating of Dunda the elephant. However, because of the controversy over the Dunda incident, the association's board has formed a special task force of elephant experts to "conduct a comprehensive examination of elephant training tactics," according to a letter written by Robert O. Wagner, executive director of the AAZPA.

State Sen. Dan McCorquodale (D-San Jose) has sent a letter to the San Diego Zoo requesting an explanation for a staff reorganization affecting the keepers who complained about the beating of Dunda the elephant.

State Sen. Dan McCorquodale (D-San Jose) said Tuesday that he will introduce comprehensive legislation dealing with discipline and abuse of captive animals as a result of the controversy over the beating of Dunda the elephant at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. The legislation will tighten controls over zoos, which are exempt from many state animal welfare laws, McCorquodale said, but will rely largely on voluntary compliance by the institutions.

The dispute between keepers at the San Diego Zoo and their colleagues at the San Diego Wild Animal Park escalated Friday with angry allegations at a rancorous public hearing prompted by the beating of Dunda the elephant. In their strongest language yet, the zoo handlers accused their superiors of lying and covering up the incident, which occurred in February at the Wild Animal Park.