Billy & Tina's ZOO PROTEST

Next protest SUNDAY, May 17 from 10 to 12 noon at the LA Zoo!The last non-unalived elephants at the Los Angeles Zoo, Billy and Tina, have been in the bleak Tulsa Zoo now for almost one year. During that time several observers have gone to Tulsa and reported back that the two are still doing poorly: their trauma- and stress-induced zoochosis is still very much in evidence and the zoo itself has indicated it may be putting poor Tina down soon due to a uterine infection. (See March 11 post for details) Here in LA we continue to hold the LA Zoo accountable for betraying Billy and Tina by sending them to another zoo rather than to the healing haven of a sanctuary. Zoo Director Denise Verret has repeatedly indicated she acted in the elephants' "best interests" in not even making a good faith consideration of a sanctuary. What a joke. Verret, whose background is in business administration, not animal care, is only interested in profit generation. The elephants' poor care and obvious distress, and the euthanasia of Jewel and Shaunzi in the space of a year were all generating a lot of bad publicity. So Verret got rid of them, shippng them off to Tulsa Zoo without adequately researching conditions there or even visiting it. The Los Angeles Zoo shouldn't be allowed to ever hold elephants captive again. It doesn't provide a real home for any of the other animals in its cages and small enclosures but the vast space and complex social and intellectual requirements of elephants make zoos uniquely and uniformly devastating for these wild beings. Los Angeles should have no part in this form of animal abuse. We urge that the city of Los Angeles adopt an elephant-free policy, one that applies not only to circuses, which is city and stae policy now, but to the zoo as well. Join us as we work to permanently stop elephant abuse in Los Angeles! Next demo: SUNDAY, May 17 from 10 to 12 noon / LA Zoo / 5333 Zoo DriveWhether you want to hold a sign, chant, do speakouts, take photos and videos, bang a drum, hand out flyers or talk to zoo goers, we have a place for you with our team. Flyers and posters are provided but we welcome handmade signs as well! YES megaphones, NO talking to cops.