SAVE BILLY

We, the undersigned, ask the Los Angeles Zoo to save Billy the elephant who has been in captivity for over 20 years and is suffering clear signs of duress.  As a result of his captivity he is bobbing his head and frequently eliminating while standing in the same spot for hours.

We humbly request that Billy be sent to an established elephant sanctuary such as the PAWS sanctuary by 12/31/08 so that he can recover and live a more normal elephant life.

We further request that the LA Zoo reconsider not expanding the elephant exhibit program of the zoo on Billy's behalf as there is ample evidence to suggest that elephants are not meant to be in captivity because to date 12 elephants have died at the LA Zoo since 1975.

We understand that elephants in the wild are slaughtered and killed and therefore many believe that Billy is safer at the zoo.  However, even though the program at the LA Zoo is part of a conservation program Billy should be placed with other elephants in a larger space than the proposed 4 acres of the elephant exhibit expansion.

Mankind could not help the establishment of zoo's when they were first incepted however as we progress into the future more studies have been done that offer evidence that question our own humanity and our integrity. What should be at the forefront of such issues like this should be determined without anger but with thoughtful consideration and kindness on both sides.

We humans are at fault for not understanding the consequences and responsibilities of keeping animals in captivity. We are all innocent and misinformed.

Anger toward misinformation, lack of education and the subsequent pointing of fingers will not help this situation.  In good faith everyone must meet and find a safe ground for both animals and humans.

After careful research of this matter the most descriptive information regarding this was a letter that Congressman Dennis Kucinich asked the LA Council Members <http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=106003> :

"...In 2006, the LA City Council voted to approve a $40 million dollar project to expand the elephant habitat from two acres to four acres. Two months later an elephant named Gita died, leaving just one elephant named Billy in captivity.

Billy has a rare habit of bobbing and swaying his head. In several news reports, elephant expert Joyce Poole is quoted as saying, "I know that some people believe that elephants do that in the wild, but having observed elephants for many, many years, seeing perhaps 10,000 different individuals ... I have never seen head-bobbing and I have never seen swaying. This type of behavior is pathological. It is a result of being in a confined space."

In the wild, Asian elephants can live 50 to 70 years, African elephants up to 80 years. It is a matter of record that fifteen elephants have died in the LA Zoo since 1974 before reaching 20 years of age. Cramped confinement of such majestic creatures is cruel and inhumane.

I used the search engine calculator, which converts square kilometers to acres, so that I could provide you with a comparison of the area of the natural environment of a specific type of elephant compared with the area of a confined environment.

African Home Range (Female)
34 square kilometers (8,401 acres) to 800 square kilometers (197,684 acres).

Asian Elephant Home Range (Male)
200 square kilometers (49,421 acres) to 235 square kilometers (58,069 acres).

African Cow/Calf Herds Home Range
50 square kilometers (12,355 acres) to hundreds of square kilometers (24,710 acres).

African Bull Elephants Home Range
500 square kilometers (123,552 acres) to 1,500 square kilometers (370,658 acres).

For comparison, the City of Los Angeles is located upon 469.1 square miles which is equal to 300,000 acres. The new elephant exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo is to be on 3.6 acres. It has been said that up to 10 elephants would be housed in the new acreage.

Billy, the Asian elephant, is currently the only elephant living at the LA Zoo. He has spent 24 years in an enclosure that encompasses only 0.6 acres. Cramped confinement of such majestic creatures is cruel, inhumane, and can be threatening to the health of the elephant. Indeed, a review of necropsy reports of at least 12 which elephants who died in captivity at the LA Zoo over the past three decades shows various states of degenerative joint disease and fatal orthopedic disabilities associated with lack of mobility due to close captivity.

Elephants space requirements are driven in part by their size. Equally important is their natural history. They are intensely social, physically powerful animals built to roam large tracts of land searching for water, foraging for food, minerals and exploring and investigating their physical environment. They also travel considerable distances in order to socialize with family, kin and conspecifics.

The writers cite research which argues that geographic range is important precisely because its implications are frequently ignored by the zoo community (Forthman 1998, 238). They point out that Elephants need for space is not only driven by their body size but also by their key characteristics as highly social, physically vigorous individuals. Elephants need for space is also a function of the species natural history playing out in a warm climate over large tracts of land.

In the wild, Asian elephants can live 50 to 70 years, African elephants up to 80 years. It is a matter of record that fifteen elephants have died in the LA Zoo since 1974 before reaching 20 years of age. Cramped confinement of such majestic creatures is cruel and inhumane.

Two years ago the LA Zoo made the right decision to release Ruby, the African elephant, to sanctuary, but only after she exhibited severe depression and rapidly declining health.
 
Once Ruby was moved to a sanctuary she began to exhibit behaviors more in line with normal elephants, behaviors which animal experts said she had never exhibited while in the LA Zoo, due to the injurious effect of close confinement.

Elephants are particularly vulnerable to foot and joint disease as well as mental disorders while in the zoo environment. As such, the Zoo's current plans for expansion will result in the continuation and enlargement of an inhumane and unhealthy environment for elephants. It is impossible to see how the LA Zoo will adequately provide for the proper veterinary care of 10 or more elephants, especially at an annual veterinary cost of $120,000 per elephant per year.

All across America, zoos are reevaluating the practice of keeping elephants in small confinements. I humbly request that you consider the research I have presented and support today's motion which will ensure sanctuary conditions for the housing of elephants by the LA Zoo, and begin consideration of an alternative use of the new facility which can still be educationally rewarding for the public."

Elephants can't help themselves...they need our help.

Please note that this petition is not in disrespect of zoo keepers and elephant caregivers who give elephants the 'humane' care that they deserve.  It is not anger driven, it is to provoke thought and compassion in our hearts that animals and elephants do for our very own spirit.

On behalf of Billy, we thank you for honoring our request.

-A Passionate Elephant Friend