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We, the Undersigned, endorse the following petition:

Help the Los Angeles Zoo Elephants!

Target: Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles
Sponsor: Last Chance for Animals, Last Chance for Animals
  • Signatures: 2,271
  • Goal: 0
  • Deadline: 7-14-2006
Urge Mayor Villaraigosa to permanently shut down the elephant exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo and relocate the three elephants to a sanctuary.

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Number Date Prefix Name City State
2,274 2:38 pm PDT, Oct 24 Ms. Love Animals Too Warwick New York
2,273 4:29 pm PDT, Aug 14   Sam Crouch Newton Abbot  
2,272 10:18 am PDT, Aug 4 Ms. MYRA GORDON MASTIC BEACH New York
2,271 2:02 pm PDT, Jul 19 Ms. Angie Whiteman Jersey  
2,270 9:58 pm PDT, Jul 12   Samantha p nampa Idaho
2,269 12:32 pm PDT, Jul 12 Ms. Anonymous Addison Illinois
2,268 9:05 pm PDT, Jul 6   joan price twin falls Idaho
2,267 8:28 pm PDT, Jul 6   Lisa Brennen Twin Falls Idaho
2,266 5:09 pm PDT, Jul 6   Jim Holmes Santa Ynez California
2,265 4:06 pm PDT, Jul 6 Mrs. Lara Anderson Santa Ynez California
2,264 3:01 pm PDT, Jun 27   Anonymous Denver Colorado
2,263 5:31 am PDT, Jun 6   Anonymous Bergen  
2,262 11:50 am PST, Dec 24 Ms. Rachel Campbell Long Beach California
2,261 10:35 pm PST, Dec 22 Ms. roslyn bradford long beach California
2,260 1:44 pm PST, Dec 3 Ms. Maureen Barnes Fountain Valley California
2,259 6:18 pm PST, Dec 2 Mrs. Shawn Wild Lakewood California
2,258 2:09 pm PST, Dec 2   marilynn evans long beach California
2,257 4:21 am PST, Nov 27 Mrs. Filomena Pereira Melksham-wiltshire  
2,256 5:33 pm PST, Nov 23   Jenny O'Neil United States  
2,255 11:40 am PST, Nov 21   Marilyn Lipson Huntington Beach California
2,254 5:22 am PST, Nov 19   Victoria Romero Fullerton California
2,253 5:25 pm PST, Nov 18 Dr. Anonymous Orlando Florida
2,252 4:09 pm PDT, Oct 28   Ilene Graves Sherman Oaks California
2,251 2:15 pm PDT, Oct 28 Mr. Brian Malott Mt. Washington California
2,250 8:32 am PDT, Oct 28   Laura Ellis West Hollywood California
2,249 9:13 pm PDT, Oct 27   Tia Schneiderman Sherman Oaks California
2,248 8:57 pm PDT, Oct 27 Mrs. Shelly Guiley Sherman oaks California
2,247 10:24 am PDT, Oct 27   Kim Heyman Van Nuys California
2,246 9:46 am PDT, Oct 25   Ronald Masson Los Angeles California
2,245 6:55 pm PDT, Oct 24   Andrea Kuehnert Woodland Hills California
2,244 3:20 pm PDT, Oct 24   Suzanne Ohler Simi Valley California
2,243 8:22 am PDT, Oct 24   jennifer davis calabasas California
2,242 12:06 am PDT, Oct 24 Mr. David Ratner Woodland Hills California
2,241 11:06 pm PDT, Oct 23   Susie Jackson Los Angeles California
2,240 10:42 pm PDT, Oct 23 Ms. Anne Ross van nuys California
2,239 9:52 pm PDT, Oct 23 Ms. D Edwards sherman oaks California
2,238 8:41 pm PDT, Oct 23   Andrea Klopert Oak Park California
2,237 8:14 pm PDT, Oct 23 Ms. june poyourow Los Angeles California
2,236 7:28 pm PDT, Oct 23 Ms. Lana Cotter Toluca Lake California
2,235 7:28 pm PDT, Oct 23 Mrs. Melissa Bacelar studio city California
2,234 7:21 pm PDT, Oct 23   Allyson Frome Sherman Oaks California
2,233 6:50 pm PDT, Oct 23 Ms. Lennox Wiseley Sherman Oaks California
2,232 5:56 pm PDT, Oct 23 Mrs. Lambreni Waddell Tarzana California
2,231 5:13 pm PDT, Oct 23   jenni kothavale calabasas California
2,230 4:45 pm PDT, Oct 23 Mrs. Anonymous Simi Valley California
2,229 3:12 pm PDT, Oct 23 Ms. Sylvia Olivas-Andraus Woodland Hills California
2,228 2:26 pm PDT, Oct 23   Kerri Merchan Encino California
2,227 2:26 pm PDT, Oct 23 Mrs. Mia Memel Sherman Oaks California
2,226 2:18 pm PDT, Oct 23 Mrs. Anonymous calabasas California
2,225 2:04 pm PDT, Oct 23 Mrs. Suzanne Hedges Van Nuys California
2,224 2:03 pm PDT, Oct 23   Emily Velasco Reseda California
2,223 2:01 pm PDT, Oct 23 Ms. Joanne Lara LA California
2,222 1:28 pm PDT, Oct 23   Sara Smirin Studio City California
2,221 1:12 pm PDT, Oct 23 Mrs. elaine patten lake balboa California
2,220 1:02 pm PDT, Oct 23   Stuart Block Encino California
2,219 12:43 pm PDT, Oct 23 Dr. Jennifer Bennett Santa Monica California
2,218 12:42 pm PDT, Oct 23   Jennifer Kuklin Studio City California
2,217 12:40 pm PDT, Oct 23   Michele Friedlander Encino California
2,216 12:21 pm PDT, Oct 23   Sheila Gilbert Encino California
2,215 12:08 pm PDT, Oct 23   Anne Hoeller Sherman Oaks California
2,214 12:06 pm PDT, Oct 23 Ms. Anonymous Woodland Hills California
2,213 11:38 am PDT, Oct 23   Sheri Kirby Encino California
2,212 4:43 pm PDT, Oct 22   Paul Orr Baton Rouge Louisiana
2,211 12:33 am PDT, Sep 28   Vickie Huber Navarre Florida
2,210 10:33 am PDT, Sep 11 Ms. Mary Westcott Venice California
2,209 12:19 pm PDT, Aug 28 Mr. Maxime GUILLAUME Cancale  
2,208 11:00 am PDT, Aug 27 Ms. Eternal Optimist Highton  
2,207 5:00 pm PDT, Aug 23 Mr. Rob Levy Plymouth  
2,206 1:53 pm PDT, Jul 31   greta malkotzoglou Athens  
2,205 3:24 pm PDT, Apr 29   Christine O'rourke Sherman Oaks California
2,204 10:13 am PDT, Apr 21   Beth Higginbotham Portland Oregon
2,203 12:53 pm PDT, Apr 12 Ms. Laurel Watson Maricopa Arizona
2,202 11:02 am PDT, Apr 10 Dr. Deborah MD Paradise Valley Arizona
2,201 9:58 am PDT, Apr 3   Amanda Rollins Pensacola Florida

Help the Los Angeles Zoo Elephants!

To Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa:

We, the undersigned, support Last Chance for Animals (LCA) in its call to action for all three elephants currently housed at the Los Angeles Zoo -- Ruby, Gita, and Billy -- to be relocated to sanctuaries and the elephant exhibit at the zoo to be closed down permanently.

We respectfully urge you to do what is best for these elephants and allow them to live out the rest of their lives in a sanctuary that can provide the environment and care they need.

Elephants in zoos suffer from the following:

  • Lack of adequate space:  Even after renovation, the L.A. Zoo elephant exhibit will only be one acre. Sanctuaries, such as the PAWS sanctuary in Northern California, have hundreds of acres.
  • Shortened life spans:  Elephants in captivity live 40-45 years, elephants in the wild live 50-70 years.
  • Health problems:  Elephants in captivity regularly suffer from chronic arthritis and foot abscesses (the two main causes of death in captive elephants) due to lack of proper exercise and standing on hard surfaces. Tuberculosis is also common among elephants in captivity.
  • Lack of proper socialization: Elephants are highly social creatures who in the wild travel in family units of 10-12. In captivity, “herds” can be as small as one.
  • Lives of abuse and neglect: It is common practice for elephants to be beaten, shocked, and chained for long periods of time.


Sanctuaries offer a peaceful retirement for elephants that have spent their lives “entertaining” humans. The PAWS sanctuary in Northern California has agreed to accept all three elephants and boasts over 100 acres of vegetation and lakes similar to the natural habitats of wild elephants. These majestic animals deserve more than being on display for human curiosity and should be allowed to live as the social, intelligent animals they were born to be.

Please follow the lead of other national zoos that have closed down their elephant exhibits due to the dangers zoo environments pose to these magnificent animals.

As a show of our support, we refuse to patronize the Los Angeles Zoo until it closes down its elephant exhibit and relocates Ruby, Gita, and Billy to sanctuaries.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned


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