Elephants will stay at L.A. Zoo, council decides [UPDATED]

Elephants will remain at the Los Angeles Zoo, the City Council decided today, voting 11 to 4 to complete construction of the six-acre, $42-million Pachyderm Forest that opponents said is too small and too expensive.

Zoo supporters screamed with delight after the vote, which marked a turnaround for the council; last year, it had signaled it was ready to kill the project. The decision came after several months of impassioned hearings, rallies and news conferences on both sides of the issue.

There were even dueling offers of money: The zoo’s fundraising arm offered $14.5 million (above the $5 million it had committed initially) to defray some of the city’s financial responsibility. On the other side, retired game show host Bob Barker offered $1.5 million to pay the cost of moving the zoo’s lone elephant to a sanctuary.

In the packed council chambers, the crowd was emotional and tense, cheering the speakers they approved and booing those they didn’t. Opponents of the exhibit marshaled celebrities, including Cher, Lily Tomlin and Robert Culp, who called himself not an animal activist but a taxpayer who assailed the money going “to this shameless political boondoggle.” Opponents believe the zoo’s exhibit cannot fulfill the complex space and social needs of the world’s largest land mammal.

Zoo supporters believe the exhibit is world-class. “No disrespect, but if you want to know about a concert, talk to Cher,” zookeeper Joshua Sisk told council members. “If you want to know about the zoo, let’s talk to professionals at the zoo.”

Updated at 1:10 p.m.: Zoo director John Lewis walked out of council chambers with people shaking his hand, hugging him and offering congratulations.

When asked why a council that last month was willing to close down the exhibit, at least temporarily, voted so overwhelmingly today to continue it, he said, “I think it was several things,” citing the zoo fundraising arm’s financial offer.  And, he said, “just the staff coming out in force and clearing up animal-care issues was part of it. Also, showing the council that the community was for it.”

During today’s public hearing, a zoo education manager with a group of high school students presented the council with sacks containing 12,700 cards from citizens asking that the elephant exhibit go forward.

-- Carla Hall

Photo credit: Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Larry]

The LA City Council has really made a poor decision. So sad.

When will we ever learn?

[steve rodriguez]

Let the elephants run free on the streets of LA! Put the gang bangers in the elephant pen at the LA Zoo. Elephants are basically non-violent and are strongly opposed to graffiti! LA as a city would be much better off!

[Diana]

This is why LA needs to educate the general public. I cannot believe that we can sit back and let 12,000+ people decide when they are so unaware of the truth of about animals

[Jim]

It's all very well Cher arguing against it, if she wants to see elephants then she can just hop in her jet and go see them in their native habitat. If you or I want to see them we can hop in our cars and drive to a wild animal park. However for millions of people the only chance they will have to experience these magnificent animals up close is at the zoo. If that is the case then the least we can do is make sure we have an exhibit that is worthy of the animals.

[Kenneth Pearson]

This was indeed the right decision to do. There is no reason why the LA Zoo can't have Elephants in a state of the Art enclosure similar to those in Seattle, Pittsburgh, Oakland, Atlanta and other zoo's. Once the exhibit is complete, everyone will see that the council's decision was the right one. I think that everyone, including the activists and Tony Cardenas himself, will like what they see next summer in 2010!

[Peter]

A great day for the zoo and the city. It really is a shame that a few mis-guided idealists were able to delay this project for so long. Perhaps the zoo can sue them to recover some of the money wasted by the city while work was stopped and precious time spent engaging the public to correct the mis-information spread by the zealots.
Yay for Billy!!!

[mj]

Good job Council. You do care what the people want. You do keep your original word and decision. I am so happy for all of us here in Los Angeles. It is a great day. There is hope in our City, for our citizens and for all the children to learn about conservation. Thank you!

[Vic]

42 million for an elephant house. This at a time we are told that schools will have to closed and teachers laid off for lack of money. What is wrong with this picture?

[David]

I am so happy about the City Council's decision! Instead of delaying the project, we should have been celebrating Billy's new home at the LA Zoo. The zoo is an amazing place and great personnel! Welcome home Billy!

[Marilyn]

The city council did the right thing by both Billy and the children of Los Angeles. Now they need to step up the effort and put pressure the appropriate city departments to get that exhibit completed. It should have been done 4 years ago if not for bureaucratic ineptitude!

[Jason]

Vic... I agree there are budget issues in this city.. But this money is coming from very specific funds, Either Voted on by the taxpayers, or given to the city by the county... if you read the history f this issue you will find this money could have never been used for schools or gangs, roads or police.. it would have to either go back to the county... or be used in the zoo for other projects...

this really is the best thing for the city and the elephant...it shows a commitment to the will of the voters, as well as creates an awesome home (larger then the San Diego Zoo's) for the current Elephant at the LA ZOo.. and any future friends for him....

Thanks to the 11 council members who voted yes, and to the 4 who voted no I hope when the exhibit is open, you will be happy with the results, and will be proud of the bullet that was dodged...

[Maddie]

Another reason to hate Los Angeles. I'm an animal welfare activist. No elephant exhibit at any zoo will ever be sufficient for these magnificent animals. The Atlanta Zoo is one of the worst offenders. Elephants belong in the wild or at a sanctuary. I stopped going to zoos years ago - one reason? Seeing elephants bobbing their heads up and down, chained like a prisoner. Isn't it better to know these wonderful creatures are living humanely, rather than keeping them in an elephant slum just so people can see them in the flesh? It's heartbreaking, and in this economy to spend this kind of money on an enclosure that will never be what these big guys deserve is simply pathetic. My heart aches for Billy. I predict he will be dead of stress and loneliness before the new exhibit is even finished. Shame on all who voted for this. It's criminal. Put Michael Vick in this exhibit instead.

[Sherry V.]

Shame on LA. Homeless, jobless, the state of the economy. Poor Billy!

[jeff]

Its all about money, time to boycott the zoo.

[Will Travers]

Instead of listening to a legion of world elephant experts with hundreds of years of combined experience and expertise, 11 Councilmembers of the City of Los Angeles decided that they would, instead, cling to the vague promises of the LA Zoo authorities that their controversial and meager 6 acre Pachyderm Forest (now to be completed at a cost of a staggering $42 million) would provide a ‘world-class solution’ for Bill, the zoo’s solitary male Asian elephant and others the zoo now hopes to acquire.

“Only time will prove whether the Council’s decision and the claims of the Zoo Authorities are correct. However, if they think that the spotlight will now turn elsewhere, they are wrong. If anything scrutiny will now intensify and it is entirely justifiable for those who have campaigned with logic, science, experience and compassion to have the elephant enclosure closed down - and Billy sent to the PAWS Elephant Sanctuary in San Andreas - to hold the Council and Zoo personally responsible for Billy’s physical and mental well-being, what happens to future elephants that may be brought in, and what they have decided to do with such a huge, some say obscene, amount of money.”

[Anna]

What a great victory for Billy and his future family and all the informed animal lovers in our city!!!

[Leigh]

I'm so disappointed. When will people understand that elephants were not put on this earth to be imprisoned and gawked at by greedy people? They travel miles a day in the wild and now Billy will live in what is essentially a closet for his whole life. If you want to learn about elephants, read a book. If you want to see them, turn on National Geographic. Think beyond yourself for once.

[hp]

It is very disappointing to see that these elected officials are so short-sighted and manipulated by ulterior financial interests . Give me a break, these elephants do not belong in any man-made forest.

I'd like to know who is lining the pockets of these 11 city council members that supported this travesty. Shame on you!

[Sane one]

This is unbelievable
$42 million for an exhibit that will be too small for Billy and the other elephants that are planned to move in.

This is money that could have been spent elsewhere to improve the lives of the people of LA, and to fight crime. What a shame.

And in the meantime, Billy continues his repetative movements over and over in his cramped enclosure. My heart breaks for Billy.

[Amanda]

This is another SELFISH decision that has been made to benefit humans without regard for animal welfare. It is not your right to view a caged or confined animal. It is the animal's right to live the life that God but him on this earth to live.

Shame on all of you who are so narrowminded so as to put your "enjoyment" above another living creature's right to follow his natural instincts and be free.

Shame on you.

[Mike]

Congrats to all the citizens of Los Angeles who made their voices heard. The City Council did the right thing, I can't wait to see the new exhibit. I hope that all the doubters will realize when the exhibit is complete and Billy has a family of his own that we did the right thing!

[Ellen]

Elephants are incredible animals that captivate people with their sheer size, their might and dexterity, their complex social structures, and their endearing personalitites. They are, therefore, incredibly important to wildlife education and conservation. Kudos to the LA City Council for embracing the importance of exposing the community to these amazing animals and therby promoting the importance of protecting endangered species for generations to come.

[Marie Atake]

What an embarrassing outcome!

What is most disturbing is that many Councilmembers are using “children” for their ulterior motives while their purposes have nothing to do with children’s happiness or animals’ welfare. There apparently are political pressures with certain people pledging donations to the city, and I understand why some Councilmembers may want to oblige in order to bring more funds to better the city. But it is morally wrong to sacrifice this innocent animal, or any living being, for sheer greed and power games.

It is astonishing that the Councilmembers who voted to keep Billy in the enclosure did not learn from what the city did to Gita. Or the 14 elephants who died prematurely in the LA Zoo. Today’s decision will teach children that one’s selfish enjoyment is more important than others’ suffering.

What would have been so wrong to use the money and build an IMAX, so that kids can learn where elephants belong to? If they are worried about the Zoo employees’ jobs, they can work at LAAS, which is destroying animals while there are rows of empty cages because of employee shortage!

Twelve US zoos already closed their elephant enclosures and another six will phase out their elephant exhibits, including the highly regarded Bronx Zoo. Today the Council proved that LA is not as progressive as it claims, as it has failed to get with what other cities like New York have already done.

Today is a sad day that Los Angeles has officially become a City of Greed, instead of City of Angels.

[Proboscidea]

I am so happy for the zoo and the city of L.A.! I can't wait to see this exhibit!

[suzanne jeanine]

Congratulations Los Angeles Zoo, GLAZA, and fellow Angelinos. Thank you to the 11 City Council members for listening to your constituents and supporting your wonderful Los Angles Zoo. We can all sleep better knowing that Billy can stay with his loving family and will soon be enjoying lux accommodations with a few girlfriends where the public can learn about the plight of his bretheren in Asia.