Free Billy the Elephant and Tina Too from a Horrible Life Trapped in a Zoo!
- by: Karen Eisenlord, Free Billy the Elephant and Tina Too, and A Group of Animal Lovers. Co-sponsored by Elephant Guardians of Los Angeles and Los Angeles for Animals
- recipient: L.A. Zoo Director Denise M. Verret, Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass, and the Los Angeles City Council, California
Billy and Tina were both secretly transferred to the Tulsa Zoo in Oklahoma from the Los Angeles Zoo on May 20, 2025 after much debate, legal motions and pleas to do the right thing and send them to a qualified sanctuary. The fight for elephants to be free from zoos is not over. Nonhuman Rights Project continues their lawsuit against the zoo for Writ of Habeas Corpus. In other words, that these precious animals were moved illegally and that there was not accountability or full disclosure to the public.
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Protests at the Los Angeles Zoo continue weekly thanks to Los Angeles for Animals, Elephant Guardians of Los Angeles, In Defense of Animals, and many other concerned groups and organizations who care about the fate of elephants. These will continue every week until the zoo meets demands that Tina and Billy be sent to an accredited sanctuary. Please visit Billy and Tina's facebook page here at 'Free Billy the Elephant and Tina Too! Hashtags #freebilly #freetina #freebillyandtina https://www.facebook.com/groups/183358695586230
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Hold L.A. Zoo Director Denise Verret accountable for sneaking BIlly and Tina to the Tulsa Zoo, and Ignoring sanctuary options. The lack of transparency displayed by her is shocking and unacceptable. The L.A. Zoo is partially funded by taxpayer dollars, yet Denise Verret and Mayor Bass ignored the thousands of people who called for Billy and Tina to be sent to sanctuary. Also, they ignored Motion 25-0446 by Councilmember Blumenfield (district 3) and Councilmember Nazarian (district 2) to temporarily stop the transfer to explore sanctuary options for these beloved elephants.
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Please flood Los Angeles City Council with calls and emails to move the motion 25-0446 forward and hold Verret accountable! It is confirmed that this motion can move forward meaning that Verret can be called to appear in front of the L.A. City Council to answer questions regarding spiriting away of Billy and Tina to Tulsa at midnight of May 20, 2025.
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Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson (disctrict 8)
Email: Councilmember.Harris-Dawson@lacity.org,
Phone: 213-473-7008
Sample message: My name is _________, I urgently request Council President Harris-Dawson schedule Motion 25-0446 on behalf of Billy and TIna, for a City Council hearing. The unethical practice of keeping elephants in zoos must stop.
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Councilmember Ysabel J. Jurado (district 14)
Phone: 213-473-7014, Email: Councilmember.Jurado@lacity.org
Sample Message: My name is, _____, I urgently request Councilmember Jurado, Chair of the Arts, Parks, Libraries and Community Enrichment Committee, to waive Motion 25-0446 out of Committee forward to L.A. City Council, on behalf of Billy and Tina. Please expedite this motion for the welfare of these elephants.
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The Nonhuman Rights Project Executive Director Christopher Berry has made it absolutely clear that their legal case for Habeas Corpus for Billy and Tina is continuing in full force. Even though these beloved elephants have been moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, the California court still holds authority over their case because they remain under the control of parties based in California. The fact that Tina and BIlly have been moved to Tulsa does not change the wrongfulness of their confinement.
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Billy's new video by singer/songwriter Nicolette Aubourg.
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Directory for all Councilmembers to show our support and give reasons why we do: https://lacity.gov/directory#elected-officials
You can also make a public comment directly on the motion here: https://cityclerk.lacity.org/publiccomment/
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Join our updated Facebook group 'Free Billy the Elephant and Tina Too' for more ongoing updates: https://www.facebook.com/groups/183358695586230
Ongoing protests are being held regularly at the Los Angeles Zoo. Please check our Facebook group for the next one to attend, and bring others, and share. Thank you!
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History --
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Billy the elephant has lived at the Los Angeles Zoo for over 35 years, since he was taken as a youngster from his natural environment in Malaysia. For most of this time, he has endured living all by himself in an extremely tiny enclosure. As a result, he has displayed significant signs of stress, such as swaying and rocking side to side and head-bobbing due to frustration, boredom and possibly depression.
Elephants naturally need to roam several miles a day to maintain healthy joints and feet. They are also highly intelligent, sensitive, and social animals who need to be engaged by their surroundings in order to be happy. Billy has none of this.
The last time I saw Billy at the L.A. Zoo I was horrified to see how miserable he looks in his cramped enclosure. I am not alone in being worried that Billy will face the same fate as his predecessors at the Los Angeles Zoo, who died prematurely due to conditions elephants often acquire while living in enclosed and cramped quarters.
After public protests and a lawsuit filed on Billy's behalf, the Los Angeles Zoo promised to close down the old elephant exhibit and build a bigger, better enclosure for Billy that would be more like his natural environment.
Upon visiting the new exhibit, however, I was shocked to find that poor Billy is still being kept in a tiny area separate from the other elephants. He was still displaying the same repetitive swaying and head-bobbing behavior that demonstrates his stress, boredom, and depression. When I spoke to the attendant on duty, he had no awareness of the basic needs of elephants, such as their need for daily exercise. He told me that the elephants were rotated from one small area to another.
This new "state-of-the-art" elephant exhibit is not at all what the L.A. Zoo promised it would be. It seems to me that the new exhibit was built more to impress paying visitors than to meet Billy's needs. Not to mention that it cost taxpayers 42 million dollars. I feel betrayed and lied to by the Los Angeles Zoo, and I'm still very much concerned about the fate of Billy.
Please sign and share this petition to demand that the L.A. Zoo free Billy and Tina to an elephant sanctuary because they are displaying severe signs of stress in their present environment.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO WRITE TO THE LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL TO FREE BILLY THE ELEPHANT AND TINA TO A SANCTUARY IN SUPPORT OF THIS AND MOTION #25-0446.
We are asking that signers of this petition please inundate Los Angeles City Council and the Mayor with calls and letters/emails that politely express that they do not agree with elephants being kept in zoos and why, and that they should be released to elephant sanctuaries.
There are two amazing accredited sanctuaries who are ready and most willing to take Billy. They are the Performing Animal Welfare Society, and the Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary. God bless them!
Below are articles and a recent video that shows poor Billy displaying his stress-related behavior of head-bobbing. You need to scroll down on the 'L.A. Progressive' news article by Marcy Winograd.
https://www.laprogressive.com/elephant-guardians/
https://www.facebook.com/elephantguardianslosangeles/?ref=page_internal
For more information, please contact; Karen at karenleis@gmail.com
Thank you for your continued support for Billy and to free all captive animals from exploitation in zoos.
Sincerely,
Karen Eisenlord
On behalf of Billy the Elephant at the Los Angeles Zoo, we the signers of this petition request that he be retired to an elephant sanctuary immediately. He has suffered enough as evidenced by his display of stress-related behavior. The new elephant exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo does not meet Billy's needs as he is still being kept in small enclosures away from the other elephants. This has been witnessed by many who have visited the zoo within the past few years. Anyone that observes Billy in this new exhibit can attest to this. It is also brings to question if Billy is receiving the daily exercise that a judge ordered for him to get, as caretakers who are questioned apparently do not have answers nor understand the needs of elephants. In fact, the other two elephants, Tina and Jewel who are elderly and we have since learned were victims of the circus in their youth, should be released to sanctuaries also. It is clear that the Los Angeles Zoo's elephant exhibit should be shut down as it is not meeting the needs of the elephants. For those who visit the new exhibit first-hand they soon learn that the new exhibit is not what the zoo had claimed it would be, as the elephants are rotated from one small enclosure to another and poor Billy is exhibiting stress-related behavior -- swaying, rocking and head-bobbing. He is miserable, bored, frustrated and depressed. Please release these animals to a sanctuary. The elephant exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo needs to be shut down and the elephants retired to a sanctuary where they can live out the remainder of their lives where their needs will be met more appropriately. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Update #161 years ago
Excerpts from statement of veterinarian Dr. Ensley after the death of Jewel: ..."I believe the losses of remaining females Tina and Shaunzi will follow, and as I stated in my two reports this pattern of losses at the Los Angeles Zoo foretells the future for Billy if he is not relocated to a higher level of care...I regret the inaction by LA City Councilmembers to follow the recommendation of the special meeting of the Personnel, Audits and Animal Welfare Committee on the 29th (November 2022)"...
Update #15about a month ago
Billy and Tina were both secretly transferred to the Tulsa Zoo in Oklahoma even after protests regarding it and pleas to do the right thing and send them to a qualified Sanctuary. There is going to be a protest this coming Saturday, May 24th in front of the zoo from 10am to 12am. Please try to be there and bring others! Many organizations are fighting for the freedom of elephants from zoos, including Los Angeles for Animals, The Nonhuman Rights Project, Elephant Guardians of L.A. and IDA.
Update #14about a month ago
Please join our Facebook page to 'Free Billy the Elephant and Tina Too!' here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/183358695586230
Ongoing protests are regularly being held at the Los Angeles Zoo. Please check our Facebook page for the next one, to participate -- and bring others! Please share. Thank you!
Send Billy and Tina to Sanctuary!
#FreeBilly #FreeTina
Ongoing protests are regularly being held at the Los Angeles Zoo. Please check our Facebook page for the next one, to participate -- and bring others! Please share. Thank you!
Send Billy and Tina to Sanctuary!
#FreeBilly #FreeTina
Update #13about a month ago
The fight for Billy and Tina to be sent to an accredited sanctuary is not over. Protests at the Los Angeles Zoo continue to demand what is best for these precious elephants be done immediately. Shipping them off to another zoo is not an answer, nor will the public stand for it. A legal battle is continuing by Nonhuman Rights Project under Writ of Habeas Corpus that they were moved illegally. Please visit 'Free Billy and Tina Too!' on Facebook for updates. #freebilly #freetina on FB. Please Share
Update #10about a month ago
A new motion 25-0446 to have Billy and Tina sent to sanctuary has been presented by Councilmember Bob Blumenfield and Councilmember Nazarian. It is very important that we pressure the LA City Council regarding this by contacting Council President, Councilmember.harris-dawson@lacity.org to schedule a hearing and Councilmember Jurado, Chair of the Arts, Parks, Libraries and Community Enrichment Committee to waive Motion 25-0446 out of Committee to expedited Hearing, on behalf of Billy and Tina.
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