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ANIMAL WATCH - The Los Angeles Zoo announced today that its last two elephants, Billy and Tina, have arrived at the Tulsa Zoo. In Defense of Animals is calling this clandestine move a shameless betrayal of the public trust — and of the elephants themselves — who deserved recovery in a sanctuary, not confinement in Tulsa’s overcrowded and inadequate exhibit.
“We are devastated that Billy and Tina's chance to heal in a sanctuary after years of zoo abuse has been snatched away, condemning them to die in Tulsa Zoo’s overcrowded exhibit,” said Marilyn Kroplick, M.D., President and CEO of In Defense of Animals. “All zoos cause elephants to suffer brain damage and early death. It’s time for every zoo still exhibiting elephants to send them to true sanctuaries to recover and stop breeding more who will only die in captivity.”
WATCH: Billy and Tina’s zoochosis.
For years, In Defense of Animals, along with many animal rights organizations, attorneys, politicians, lawyers, and thousands of advocates, has worked tirelessly to get Billy and Tina to a true sanctuary home.
In Defense of Animals supporters alone sent over 21,000 emails to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council, and more than 18,000 messages to Zoo Director Denise Verret and Association of Zoos & Aquariums President Dan Ashe.
WATCH: Bob Blumenfield speaks up for Billy and Tina — May 8 Budget Committee https://youtu.be/xQjoMf6a18k
Councilmember Bob Blumenfield introduced a motion in April requiring the zoo to explore sanctuary options. But before the council could act, the zoo moved forward, thwarting public discourse and transparency.
Although the zoo claims it “evaluated all available options including AZA accredited sanctuaries,” this was never shared with the public or city officials prior to today’s announcement — a move that appears disingenuous at best.
The Tulsa Zoo earned a spot on In Defense of Animals’ 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants in 2022 for falsely claiming that its new “preserve” marked a meaningful improvement for its elephants. Tulsa’s elephant enclosure is severely cramped, unnatural, and harmful to elephant health. Adding Billy and Tina will make seven elephants jammed into an enclosure less than one percent the size of their smallest natural range.
Instead of roaming on acres of lush grassland, foraging on plants, trees and roots, enjoying the serenity and quiet of a more natural environment, and choosing how to spend their days, Billy and Tina are now confined once again to a small, barren enclosure, with no hope of healing from their advanced zoothotic behavior and numerous physical ailments caused by decades in a zoo.
“We call out the Los Angeles Zoo for its scandalous and unethical treatment of Billy and Tina — if the elephants were truly, “beloved,” they’d have been sent to sanctuary years ago. We vow to keep fighting to get the elephants to sanctuary, said Courtney Scott, Elephant Consultant for In Defense of Animals. “Tulsa Zoo is unfit for Billy and Tina — they should go to a true sanctuary instead of a fake ‘preserve.’ Tulsa Zoo’s new exhibit isn’t fit for a single elephant, let alone seven. This is not conservation; it's cruelty.”
(In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization with over 250,000 supporters and a history of defending animals, humans, and the environment through education and campaigns, as well as hands-on rescue facilities throughout the United States, India and South Korea, since 1983. www.idausa.org/elephant)
