WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has denied an animal rights group’s request to stop an import of elephants from Swaziland to three American zoos, including the Sedgwick County Zoo.

The Wichita Eagle reports that Friends of Animals’ wildlife law program filed a federal lawsuit to stop the importation of 18 African elephants. The group opposes keeping elephants in zoos because they are migratory and social animals.

Court records say that with a court hearing looming, the three zoos moved on Tuesday to anesthetize and load the elephants for a flight to the U.S.

The animal-rights group found out and asked for a restraining order to halt the transfer. A U.S. District Court judge denied the order, saying that sedating elephants again for a later transfer would be unsafe.