Campaigns - Los Angeles Zoo
POLITICS TRUMPS THE TRUTH: L.A. CITY COUNCIL VOTES TO KEEP ELEPHANTS IN INADEQUATE CONDITIONS
On January 29, 2009, the Los Angeles City Council chose politics over facts and science when they voted to continue construction of the $42 million elephant exhibit at L.A. Zoo. This despite letters, statements, and direct appeals by leading elephant authorities, conservationists, zoo professionals, scientists and veterinarians from around the globe attesting to the fact that the L.A. Zoo just could not provide enough space for elephants.
Lacking any science to show that elephants¹ health and well-being would be improved in a 3.5-acre space subdivided into four yards, the Zoo resorted to a deceptive campaign filled with misinformation and twisted facts. They conducted misleading telephone "push polls," took out full-page newspaper ads slamming activists and sound science, attacked the sanctuaries with outright lies and presented only "experts" who received their paychecks from the zoo industry and/or display of captive animals.
But don’t give up hope! Our hard work on this campaign has not been for naught. We have assembled an amazing team that will continue to fight for elephants like Billy, who deserve a life far closer to what nature intended.
IDA thanks advocates for Billy
IDA is deeply grateful to the following individuals:
- City Councilman Tony Cardenas and his amazing staff who worked so hard to pass the motion to close LA Zoo’s elephant exhibit. Mr. Cardenas’ integrity, dedication and compassion are unparalleled and so refreshing to see in a public official.
- The respected authorities in elephant field biology, Asian and African elephant conservation, zoo management, design, and animal care, and others who joined the fight for Billy’s freedom. See their statements here.
The many actors and celebrities who spoke up for Billy and the future elephants who would be confined in L.A. Zoo’s cramped and unnatural exhibit: Bob Barker, Lily Tomlin, Cher, Kathy Joosten, Free Willy filmmakers Richard Donner and Lauren Shuler Donner, Tippi Hedren, Kevin Nealon, John Paul DeJoria, Willie Nelson, Kim Basinger, Halle Berry, James Franco, Brendan Frasier, Jason Patric, Susan Sarandon, Robert Culp, Bill Maher, James Cromwell, Jorja Fox, Alicia Silverstone, Ed Begley, Esai Morales, Bernie Williams, Jane Velez-Mitchell, Nicolette Sheriden, Madeleine Stowe, Goldie Hawn, Eric Roberts, Bea Arthur, Persia White and others.
The fight is not over
As long as there are elephants at L.A. Zoo, there will be controversy and IDA will be there to continue the fight for elephants. We’re in this for the long haul – and firmly convinced that public education is the key to victory. Quite simply, the more people learn about elephants and how they suffer in zoos, the less they will want to see them on display, standing pathetically in small zoo yards.
The zoo industry has built its case for elephant captivity on a very shaky foundation based on lies, distortions and shocking dismissal of scientific evidence. With the team of experts and opinion leaders that we have assembled, and the accumulating science documenting the devastating effects of zoo conditions on elephants, the tipping point on this issue is near.
The sad saga of L.A. Zoo’s elephants
BILLY
Watch a video on Billy and the L.A. Zoo. For more information on how you can help Billy, please see below.
TARA AND GITA
The most recent deaths at L.A. Zoo include 39-year-old Tara, an African elephant who died in 2004. Keepers found her down on the ground one morning and unable to get up due to severe arthritis. She died shortly thereafter.
Similarly, keepers found 48-year-old Gita down one morning, and she died later that day. She, too, had suffered from advanced arthritis, as revealed in her necropsy (her body was riddled with the disease). IDA exposed the terrible failure of Zoo personnel to take action after observing Gita down early during the night prior to her death. It was later determined that Gita may have needlessly and painfully suffered for as long as 12 to 17 hours before getting veterinary attention. She had also suffered chronic foot infections throughout her life, which eventually led to the partial amputation of one toe in September 2005. IDA requested an USDA investigation into Tara and Gita¹s deaths, the results of which are still pending after two years.
RUBY
After years of intense campaigning by IDA, Ruby made an historic journey in May 2006 from her tiny, off-exhibit enclosure at L.A. Zoo, where she was held alone, to her new home at the PAWS Sanctuary in Northern California. Ruby is thriving on more than 70 acres of rolling, grassy hills and happily shares the company of other African elephants!
What you can do
Contact Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and ask him to intervene and send Billy to a spacious sanctuary, where he would live on 20 acres of natural habitat – as much as 40 times the space he would have in the renovated L.A. Zoo exhibit – at no cost to taxpayers and the City of Los Angeles.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
Los Angeles City Hall
200 N. Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: 213-978-0600
Fax: 213-978-0750
Email: mayor@lacity.org