Councilman Says LA Zoo Should Consider All Options for Asian Elephants’ Relocation

LOS ANGELES (CNS) – One day after the Los Angeles Zoo announced its intention to relocate its two remaining Asian elephants to a preserve in Tulsa, Oklahoma, City Councilman Bob Blumenfield introduced a motion calling for the zoo to hold off until additional options are explored.

The motion would instruct zoo officials to report within 30 days on the relocation options for Billy, 40, and Tina, 59. Zoo officials would be instructed not to move the elephants or otherwise commit to where they will be relocated until the matter is discussed and voted on by the full council.

“Since the zoo is a citywide asset, the Los Angeles City Council has a vested interest in the relocation of its elephants,” the motion reads.

Blumenfield said the zoo should consider the 3,060-acre Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, or the Performing Animal Welfare Society in northern California, a 2,300-acre haven for retired captive wildlife.

“Elephants require large, dynamic environments, companionship, freedom of choice, and control over their lives,” the motion reads. “When these essential needs are not met, they suffer great physical and psychological harm.”

On Tuesday, zoo officials announced their decision to relocate the pair to the Elephant Experience and Preserve in Tulsa, which was made in consultation with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is (AZA) and the Taxon Advisory Group.

The move “will allow Billy and Tina to continue receiving exceptional care with opportunities to integrate with a larger herd,” according to the zoo.

Currently home to five Asian elephants, the preserve covers 17 acres, including a 36,650-square-foot elephant barn and a 10-plus-acre wooded elephant preserve.

“The decision is driven by the LA Zoo’s unwavering commitment to the health and well-being of all the animals in its care,” the zoo wrote in a statement. “Following the move, the Zoo will pause its elephant program for the immediate future.”

Advocates have long called on the zoo to release the elephants, who they say are suffering from “grave distress” and medical conditions due to the limited confines at the zoo.

Courtney Scott, an elephant consultant for In Defense of Animals, was disappointed by the decision to relocate the elephants to another zoo instead of a sanctuary, which they have been petitioning the LA Zoo to do for the last 20 years. 

“These two elephants have been existing in a constricted, barren zoo exhibit for decades, enduring physical and mental suffering. It is really tragic that they are not getting the opportunity to live the rest of their lives as the wild, free elephants they were born to be,” Scott said, adding that Tulsa Zoo’s exhibit is far from enough space to accommodate their needs. 

In March, philanthropist David Casselman offered to fully fund the relocation and lifetime care of the elephants at the Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary, a refuge he co-founded.

“We can crate Billy, we can take Tina with him, and we can move them to Cambodia – they’ll have all the space in the most lovely existence for an elephant you can imagine,” Casselman said. “All we need to do is convince the City Council to just let them go.”

Max Pulsinelli, a spokesman for the zoo, said neither In Defense of Animals nor Casselman contacted or presented them with an offer.

“The cost of the move and activist agendas are not taken into consideration, only the well-being of the individual animals,” said Pulsinelli. “Animal care decisions are made by animal care experts and zoo professionals within the context of the AZA Accreditation Standards.”