LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥 Billy and Tina, the last remaining elephants at the Los Angeles Zoo, were quietly moved this week to a zoo in Oklahoma despite pending lawsuits seeking to have them transferred instead to an animal sanctuary where they could live out their days with more room to roam.
The announcement last month that Billy, 40, and Tina, 59, would be sent to the Tulsa Zoo angered animal advocates who argue that they would be subjected again to an enclosure that’s too small for aging elephants.
The move came 鈥渦nder cover of darkness,鈥 said Jake Davis, an attorney for the Nonhuman Rights Project. Davis said he received reports that the Asian elephants were transferred out about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday to elude protesters who’ve been staking out the zoo.
The nonprofit on Tuesday filed a petition asking a court to release Billy and Tina from the LA Zoo and send them to one of two accredited sanctuaries appropriate for elephants where they would have full-time care and ample space.
鈥淎t a sanctuary, they could live as nature intended,鈥 Davis said Wednesday. 鈥淭hey need massive swaths of land; they need varied terrain.鈥
The LA Zoo said in a statement Wednesday that the elephants 鈥渉ave arrived safely at the Tulsa Zoo鈥 but didn’t say when the transfer occurred.
The move was necessary because the Tulsa Zoo has other Asian elephants who will provide important socialization for Billy and Tina because 鈥渒eeping them in larger groups is crucial for their well-being,鈥 especially at their advanced age, the LA Zoo statement said. Asian elephants typically live around 60 years.
A move to a sanctuary was considered, but the Tulsa Zoo was the top recommendation based on the standards of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Elephant Species Survival Plan, which considers 鈥渟pace, herd dynamics, and expertise of the staff,鈥 the LA Zoo said.
鈥淭his option also ensured that Billy and Tina would be able to remain together,” the statement said.
Davis said he expects the Los Angeles lawsuit will be dismissed but his group will not give up the fight to get Billy and Tina a sanctuary retirement home. He said his team is exploring legal options in Oklahoma. The Tulsa Zoo didn鈥檛 immediately reply to a request for comment.
A lawsuit filed this month by an LA resident sought to halt the elephants鈥 transfer, but a judge denied an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order. That lawsuit includes a declaration by the singer Cher, who has advocated for the elephants for years, the reported.
鈥淏illy and Tina have served their time in confinement,鈥 Cher said in the declaration. 鈥淭hey deserve the chance to live out their lives in peace and dignity.鈥
The LA Zoo referred questions about the court actions to the city attorney’s office, which said it doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield introduced a motion in April requiring the zoo to explore sanctuary options for the pair. But before the council could act, the zoo went forward with the move, 鈥渢hwarting public discourse and transparency,鈥 In Defense of Animals said in a statement Wednesday.
The nonprofit said the Tulsa Zoo’s enclosure is 鈥渃ramped, unnatural, and harmful to elephant health,” with seven pachyderms 鈥渏ammed into an enclosure less than one percent the size of their smallest natural range.鈥
Zoos across the country have been targeted in recent years by animal activists who criticize living conditions for elephants. Broadly, some elephant experts say urban zoos simply don鈥檛 have the space that elephants, who roam extensive distances in the wild, need for a normal life.
Some larger zoos such as the and have phased out their elephant programs, sending their aging animals to sanctuaries that have far more space.
But other zoos say they are committed to keeping elephants and are turning to breeding, arguing that a sustainable population of zoo elephants will help spur a commitment to wildlife conservation among future generations of visitors.
In New York, the Nonhuman Rights Project filed legal papers to try to free the Asian elephant Happy from the Bronx Zoo but in 2022. The group then filed similar papers in California to try to free ‘s three African elephants but a judge ruled against the group.
