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Elephants at the Toronto Zoo's enclosure in 2003.

The Toronto Zoo has hardened its stance on the fate of three elderly elephants, rejecting unequivocally any plan to ship the elephants to a U.S. sanctuary.

It issued the statement days after releasing a report that concluded Toka, Thika and Iringa should be moved to another zoo. That decision arose mainly out of concerns the city could not afford a new $16.5-million elephant facility or the animals' $1-million annual upkeep bill.

The animal-rights group Zoocheck, along with former Price is Right host Bob Barker, have been pressuring the Toronto Zoo to send its African Bush elephants south to save them from the ill-effects of Toronto's cold climate. Four of the zoo's elephants have died in the past five years.

That message has influenced several city councillors who want to send the pachyderms packing to a sunny retirement on a free-range sanctuary in California.

The problem with that plan, according the Zoo clarification issued on Tuesday, is that sanctuaries are not accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which it says places the animals health and safety at risk.

"While some people call for the Toronto Zoo's elephants to be sent to a 'sanctuary', both Zoo staff and its accrediting bodies have concerns about standards, care and monitoring at such facilities," said the Zoo in a statement, which included a recent report about workers at a Tennessee sanctuary contracting tuberculosis from an elephant.

"It's a bit of fear-mongering," said Julie Woodyer, campaign director for Zoocheck Canada. "The sanctuary has been around for 25 years, expanding and improving over that time. It exceeds all AZA standards of care for elephants."

Elephants from zoos in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit and Alaska have all sent elephants to the Performing Animal Welfare Society facility in California, Zoocheck's retirement destination of choice for the Toronto animals.

The Toronto Zoo Board of Management will vote on how to deal with the elephants on Thursday.

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