From L.A. to Tulsa: Billy and Tina Moved From One Failing Zoo to Another

ANIMAL WATCH - In Defense of Animals has released its 21st annual list of the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants in North America, delivering a crushing verdict on the new home of former Los Angeles Zoo elephants, Billy and Tina. The Tulsa Zoo has been ranked the No. 10 Worst Zoo, exposing the “preserve” promised to Angelenos as a crowded facility focused on aggressive breeding rather than sanctuary. 

No. 10 Worst Zoo for Elephants in North America: Tulsa Zoo 

In May 2025, the Los Angeles Zoo secretly shipped Billy and Tina to Tulsa, betraying decades of public pleas from Angelenos and celebrities like Cher and Lily Tomlin to send them to a true sanctuary. The new investigation confirms the public's worst fears: Billy and Tina have been moved from one inadequate zoo to another. 

“Tulsa Zoo’s ‘preserve’ masks a crowded facility,” said Courtney Scott, Elephant Consultant for In Defense of Animals. “We cannot let Billy, Tina or the other elephants die in this place of suffering, loss, and broken lives. It’s time to end failed breeding attempts immediately and truly preserve elephants in a sanctuary with the expansive space they need and deserve.”

Tulsa Zoo earns a place on the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants list for the second time. Its much-hyped 10-acre “preserve” was already insufficient before Billy and Tina arrived. From their profound zoochotic behavior, it appears their situation is even worse at their new zoo. And it's no better for the other five elephants at the zoo, who have advanced zoochosis.

In Defense of Animals’ investigator was told Tulsa’s three bulls cannot share space safely, so they are rotated between the exhibit and cramped holding yards. There, they are seen pacing, bobbing, and swaying in despair. Despite the overcrowding, Tulsa Zoo could further crowd the facility by adding more elephants to create a “multi-generational herd.”

Video captured by Elephant Guardians of Los Angeles reveals Billy and Tina showing zoochotic stress behavior at Tulsa Zoo. Sneezy, the zoo’s long-time male, is documented attempting a prison breakout. Sneezy has been repeatedly used to supply semen to other zoos, yet all four of his calves have died. This cycle of heartbreak is part of a national "mortality crisis" where 1 in 4 zoo-born elephants dies before age 5.

They join Hank, who was shuttled between four facilities before landing in Tulsa and is now slated as a sperm donor for AI (artificial insemination). Billy, who has already been subjected to more than 50 invasive sperm extractions, could face more. 

Breeding loans are common, but a new scientific review shows frequent relocations cause transfer trauma and raise the risk of premature death.

Tulsa’s breeding history is tragic. Tooma, stolen from her family in the wild, died at just 21, five months after giving birth to Maverick. He survived only seven years before EEHV killed him. Asha came to breed with Sneezy and was sent back to the Oklahoma City Zoo pregnant. Her calf Malee died from EEHV at 4 years old in 2015.

“Zoo-bred elephants are fated to suffer from the moment they are conceived, and die at double the rate of wild babies. This industry is manufacturing babies in a bid to keep exhibits full — not to save elephants,” said Marilyn Kroplick, M.D., President of In Defense of Animals. “True conservation happens in the wild, not behind bars. The only ethical path forward for Tulsa Zoo is to end captive breeding and move its elephants to a spacious, true sanctuary.” 

2025 List of the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants:

1. Houston Zoo, Houston, Texas
2. Sedgwick County Zoo, Wichita, Kan.
3. Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium, Omaha, Neb.
4. African Lion Safari, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
5. Denver Zoo, Denver, Colo.
6. Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Powell, Ohio
7. ABQ BioPark, Albuquerque, N.M.
8. Oklahoma City Zoo, Oklahoma City, Okla.
9. Fresno Chaffee Zoo, Fresno, Calif.
10. Tulsa Zoo, Tulsa, Okla. 

• Hall of Shame: Oregon Zoo, Portland, Ore. 
• Path to Progress Award: Louisville Zoo, Louisville, Ky.

(In Defense of Animals’ list of the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants in North America has been featured in The New York Times, Esquire and the Daily Mail, and supported by celebrities including Bill Maher and Ricky Gervais. It draws global attention to how zoos condemn elephants to lifetimes of deprivation, disease, and premature death. Rankings are determined based on in-person visits and data analysis of elephant mortality, health records, transfer history and enclosure conditions. This year’s list heavily weighted the intensity of breeding programs and infant mortality rates. Explore two decades of rankings at idausa.org/10worstzoos  In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization with over 250,000 supporters and a history of defending animals, people and the environment since 1983. idausa.org)