By Tom Weber, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – An animal rights group in California is asking the federal government to investigate living conditions at the St. Louis Zoo.
The group In Defense of Animals claims 53-year old Clara the elephant suffers from arthritis and foot problems because she's in captivity.
But the zoo's Bill Houston says Clara has lived a decade longer than the average life span of elephants in the wild...
"She does have some arthritis and changes in her feet that are age related," Houston said. "And yet, IDA continues to want to grab a hold of that claim that has something to do with being in captivity and not recognize that what we have here is an animal that has received such good care, she's lived an incredibly long and fulfilling life."
This is the second complaint IDA has filed this year over the zoo's elephants, though this new one only focuses on Clara.