OK, pals of pachyderms everywhere, mark your calendars because this Saturday, June 20 is the day to take action for our ele-friends in zoos worldwide. In Defense of Animals is holding its first-ever International Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos (IDAEZ) to help raise awareness about elephants who languish in zoos—and to help stop their suffering.

Have you ever watched an elephant at the zoo? It’s absolutely pitiful. Since they’re pack animals, they hate being alone—but I know when we visited the St. Louis zoo, we saw one of the elephants moping around outside alone because there just isn’t enough room for them all to be out at once together.

These awesome mammoth-sized creatures are used to roaming tens of miles of open plains a day—it’s heartbreaking to see them forced to such a small, confined area. It would be like us humans being forced to live in our bathrooms!

Since these magnificent creatures are forced to just stand around all day in mere acres of land, they develop arthritis and painful infections in their feet—maladies that, caused by their captivity, also cause their own eventual euthanasia.

The stress and boredom from lack of connection with other elephants and from lack of movement also brings on trauma, depression and abnormal behaviors like head-bobbing and repetitive swaying.

I was appalled to learn that so many zoos still haven’t stopped using archaic, cruel forms of management on these majestic animals, either. Like many circuses, some zoos use actual bullhooks to negatively reinforce the behaviors they want the elephants to exhibit. These steel-tipped torture devices are very similar to an iron poker, and are used to prod, poke, beat and stab elephants into “behaving.” This alone, surely, should be outlawed!

Elephants are not puppies. Highly sensitive, self-aware and intelligent creatures who even mourn their own dead, they are not pets—they are beings with their own families who do not wish to be kept or tortured by humans.  Even the zookeepers who mean well are still causing them unnecessary suffering and premature death, as there are simply no manmade habitats that can compare to the wild. It’s time we stopped keeping them like pets and started treating them with the respect they deserve.

There are events in at least 30 cities; click here to find one near you.

Want to create your own event? Click here for some ideas and tips.