The Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) is a U.S.-based group for abandoned or abused performing animals as well as victims of the exotic animal trade. They claim 30,000 members. As a member accredited by The Association of Sanctuaries (TAOS), the society follows guidelines stipulated by TAOS, one of which is that none of the elephants be bred.

History

Founded by former

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

animal trainer and author

Pat Derby Pat Derby (June 7, 1942 – February 15, 2013) was a British-born American animal trainer for American television series during the 1960s and 1970s and later became a crusader for animal rights.Mai-Duc, Christine. (February 20, 2013)''Pat Derby die ...

and partner Ed Stewart, PAWS works to ensure that animals are protected by the

Endangered Species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

and the Animal Welfare Acts, as well as by local laws. In 2007, with the arrival of a retired circus elephant named Nicholas, PAWS' ARK 2000 became the first sanctuary in the United States to house bull elephants. Today, the sanctuary is home to three bull elephants following the arrival of Sabu in September 2010, and Prince in July 2011. Sabu and Prince are both retired circus elephants.

Sanctuary Facilities

PAWS maintains three sanctuaries for captive wildlife—a 30

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

sanctuary in

Galt, California Galt is a city in Sacramento County, California. It is part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. The population was 23,647 at the 2010 census, up from 19,472 at the 2000 census. Geography Galt is located at . According to the United States Ce ...

, the Amanda Blake Wildlife Refuge in

Herald, California Herald is a census-designated place in Sacramento County, California. Herald sits at an elevation of . It is located east of the Galt, California, city of Galt along California State Route 104, State Route 104. The ZIP Code is 95638, and the commun ...

and a third, Ark 2000, which comprises in

San Andreas, California San Andreas (Spanish for "St. Andrew") is an unincorporated census-designated place and the county seat of Calaveras County, California. The population was 2,783 at the 2010 census, up from 2,615 at the 2000 census. Like most towns in the regio ...

. The Galt sanctuary was the first in the United States equipped to care for elephants.Vitello, Paul. (2013, February 22). ''Pat Derby, 69, Champion of Animal Welfare''. The New York Times, p B13. The animals live in facilities specifically designed for their needs; the elephants, for example, have access to of land and have been given a jacuzzi for the more

arthritic Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In some ...

members of their family. Ark 2000 is supported by private and corporate donations. Its membership list is said to have 33,000 names.

Animal Population

The sanctuaries currently house approximately six

Asian elephants The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...

, five African elephants, 41 exotic cats such as

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...

s, a

black leopard A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been ...

, a

serval The serval (''Leptailurus serval'') is a wild cat native to Africa. It is widespread in sub-Saharan countries, except rainforest regions. Across its range, it occurs in protected areas, and hunting it is either prohibited or regulated in ran ...

, and a

bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...

, eight

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

s (mostly

American black bear The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), also called simply a black bear or sometimes a baribal, is a medium-sized bear endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. American black bear ...

s), eight

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

s (mostly

White-headed capuchin White-faced capuchin, or white headed capuchin, can refer to either of two species of gracile capuchin monkey: * ''Cebus imitator'', the Panamanian white-faced capuchin, also known as the Panamanian white-headed capuchin or Central American whi ...

s), one

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...

, emu, rhea, fallow deer, eland, Muntjack deer and a herd of scimitar-horned oryx. Ark 2000 houses two bears who appeared in the 1994 film ''

Legends of the Fall ''Legends of the Fall'' is a 1994 American epic Western drama film directed by Edward Zwick and starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond and Henry Thomas. Based on the 1979 novella of the same title by Jim Harrison, the fil ...

'': a

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

named Tuffy and a

Kodiak bear The Kodiak bear (''Ursus arctos middendorffi''), also known as the Kodiak brown bear, sometimes the Alaskan brown bear, inhabits the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago in southwest Alaska. It is the largest recognized subspecies or population o ...

named Manfried.

References

External links

* http://www.pawsweb.org Animal charities based in the United States Animal rescue groups Animal sanctuaries Charities based in California Sacramento County, California Calaveras County, California {{nonprofit-org-stub

History

Sanctuary Facilities

Animal Population

See also

References

External links