Captive elephants face significant welfare challenges in both traditional zoo settings and the growing number of sanctuaries now receiving retired performing and logging elephants.
Elephants in captivity suffer from movement restriction, hard substrates, social disruption, and cognitive understimulation. Their foot problems are almost entirely preventable with appropriate substrate and sufficient daily walking. Captive elephants show stereotypies — repetitive swaying, head-bobbing, and weaving — at rates far exceeding wild populations. Lifespan in traditional zoos is significantly shorter than in the wild. The gap between zoo welfare and sanctuary welfare is substantial and growing, driven by increasing enclosure size and social complexity in leading sanctuaries.