" But the Woodland Park Zoo faced an obstacle in the AZA, its accrediting institution. The AZA opposed elephant sanctuaries vehemently, since they took elephants out of the breeding pool. When zoos around the country started sending their older elephants to sanctuaries to retire, AZA threatened to -- and sometimes did -- yank their accreditation. (Today, the AZA has changed its tune on elephant sanctuaries. The organization even granted accreditation to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee in 2017.) "

― , Wild Souls: Freedom and Flourishing in the Non-Human World