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.

[Terri Webb]

I can not believe that anyone in their right mind would think that $42M is a reasonable sum of money to spend on elephants when there are people in Ontario living in tents because they have no homes. Especially when there is a perfectly good refuge near by for the elephants to go to. NO ONE has a God given right to demand a personal viewing of an animal that is not indigenous to their area. WAKE UP PEOPLE!

[Kris Conwell]

The City Council made the right decision!! A good day for L.A. and the future of Asian elephants!!

[Ramiro]

What a great day for the LA Zoo community. This will be on of the largest elephant exhibits in the country. Too many in the opposition were nothing more than people who would want to close ALL zoos. And as for the money argument......it came from a bond and was already apportioned to this particular exhibit. To stop the construction would have meant the loss of the entire chunk of money.......so educate yourselves.

Billy will be happy in one of the largest, most state of the art exhibits in the United States.

[Ramiro]

Maddie:

If you hate Los Angeles so much because of a zoo exhibit......

Please move.

[Migdia Chinea]

I'm very happy for the elephants and for everyone who goes to the zoo to see how these animals really look like up close and personal. This is a great day for pachiderms. These are wonderful creatures!

[A Scanner Darkly]

Confine all of the L.A. city council members to a 6 acre compound with glass houses, scientists studying them and spectators throwing them peanuts and see how they like it.

"Man thinks cause he rules the earth
He can do with it as he please"

"License To Kill"- Bob Dylan ("Infidels")

[SJinLA]

I am so proud of the L.A. Zoo, city council and The Zoo Association for weathering this battle with such grace and strength. Their supporters deserve a round of applause as well. Please move quickly on the exhibit to get Billy in his beautiful new enclosure as soon as possible. I look forward to seeing the completed Pachyderm Forest - an exhibit that will make Angelinos proud. Congratulations Billy!

[monika]

Elephants do not belong in zoos.
Shame on Los Angeles.

[CRG]

What a blessing it will be to have Billy! Unfortunately activists will never stop harassing the zoo, even when the Zoo is trying to change for the better. It is so obvious that the same people are posting like a broken record the same facts that have been unfounded since the beginning. Remember the citizens of LA voted for this expansion, and today we were heard by our elected officials. I am also glad to hear that the jobs of the workers creating this extraordinary exhibit have also been saved. Cheers to all involved in saving the project!

[Informed]

All you crybabies can wail all you want over your fanatical hopes being shattered!
The new exhibit will be awesome and Billy will be awesome in it!
More people will care about conserving Asian elephants!
Support for the Zoo will continue to grow!
Woot woot!!!

[SJinLA]

The activists can't see the forest for the trees.

If they'd get past their agenda to close zoos they'd hear the simple fact that the money for this exhibit can only be used for the master plan at the L.A. Zoo, of which the Pachyderm Forest is a major part.

[Melissa]

Yay for Billy! Yay for the zoo! Yay for the city of Los Angeles! Thank you Council members for making the right decision!

[cp]

Another shameful day for L.A. 42million for a virtual prison for Billy. We will cut park services, street services, social services, anti gang services, library hours, public safety initiatives, and animal services,but the masses will be able to ogle one of natures greatest creatures up close and personal. What's wrong with this picture? Continue throwing good money after bad L.A. No wonder the City is broke and can't fix it!

Christine Peters

[Paul]

That noise you hear is Gita crying.

[Jeff de la Rosa]

Shame on the Council for being lobbied by the Zoo staff. This is a horrible decision and I don't care how big the new "exhibit" is. Elephants are not meant to be confined like this and are meant to roam.

Council had the opportunity to set an example for other big cities and again, they choked. When Billy dies, what will you be saying then?

[Patrick Dalpaz]

REAL Animal Lovers would love to see animals in the wild, where they belong.
SELFISH people go to the zoo, because they don't care about animals to feed their ego.
If you want to see an animal go google images and look for the ones you like best.

[Earlene]

Disgraceful.
Shameful.
Rosendahl. Typical two-faced politician.

The 11 City Council members who voted to keep this exhibit should not be re-elected next term. And let's not forget the "promise" Villaraigosa made a few years back that he would close the elephant exhibit. That was before Gita died.
Billy, I hope you survive long enough. If he dies you all will have some 'splainin' to do

Oh and it's the economy stupid.

[Paraglider7]

Too bad only 4 city councilmembers had any integrity today. I fear LA will have to change its name to City of Neanderthals.

[r. wheeler]

Who were the 4 who voted against the elephant enclosure? Hopefully, they will eventually be voted out of their office enclosure. Lily Tomlin's comment was , by the way, ludicrous. Some people DO live comfortably in an apartment the size of a 3-car garage.

[Sparrow]

My classmates and I are glad to have Billy's home completed. I agree it is not as good as the wild (a wild lacking the bushmeat trade, poachers and human-elephant conflicts that is), but it's pretty good. In case people believe zoos don't inspire: in one year our high school class of 65 people has raised and donated over $3,000 dollars to the World Wildlife Fund, sanctuaries such as Wildlife Waystation, the SPCA, and poverty-aimed organizations such as Nothing but Nets. Many of us hope to move on and become animal behaviorists, biologists, conservationists, veterinarians, zoologists, etc. We thank the Los Angeles Zoo for its part in expanding our minds to the world beyond the city. And we hope they will continue doing so for future generations.

[jonathan]

my wish is for those who continue to favor this "magnificient" zoo exhibit to spend their lives locked in a walk-in closet (make it as magnificient a closet as possible) ...perhaps then they will finally understand how misguided and harmful their efforts have been

[Dave]

Some animals do well in zoos and some do not. By now it should be clear animals such as elephants do not. Shame on the mayor, the majority of the city council, and the legions of gleeful "animal lovers" who greedily, ignorantly, or selfishly rejected the humane solutions offered.

[Amy]

For those that are concerned with the cost of spending $42 million on the exhibit: what it comes down to is that construction has already begun, so had the exhibit not been allowed to go forward, at least $17 million would be flushed down the toilet. Are you OK with wasting that amount of money? If you were opposed to the expenditure, the time to vocalize that opposition was 3 years ago, when the decision to build was originally made.

[Jane A in L.A.]

Thank you, City Council, thank you zoo staff, for the wonderful jobs you do to nurture the animals in your care and to educate the children of our community. I can't believe the posters who say it is selfish for me to want my kids to see animals in zoos. If it's selfish for me to want to instill the same love of wildlife in my children that I gained growing up visiting zoos, to have them develop the same interest that guided my career in conservation, to have them care so much about wild animals that they give of their own time and money to help conservation causes abroad, then so be it. I am selfish.

Kudos to the zoo. It's a great day for Billy!

[Tom Bumgarner]

Condemming Billy to a life of imprisonment reflects the lack of intelligence and caring of this City Counclil of Los Angeles. Los Angeles needs leaders, not uninformed career (would be) poloticians. Yes, our children need to be educated that Billy is one of the most intelligent and rare treasures in danger of extinction. First this council needs to be eduated in order to educate their constituents that Billy and his fellow elephants are not getting the freedom and life they deserve. FREE BILLY NOW

[pork chop]

from some of these comments you would think that Billy will be EATING the 42 million .. Instead the 42 million will provide JOBS.. elephants may be rare.. but jobs ( except for Lily Tomlin and Cher of course) are even more rare...THIS GREAT news.. for Billy, for the children and for LA.. as for the 4 who voted NO.. out with them.. send them to a politico sanctuary.. but make them pay their ownway.. I am sick of payng for them. Their antics make a circus look GOOD.

[Phyllis Elliott]

Zoo supporters have worked very hard to persuade the public that they understand better than anyone what their animals need.
However, although they do not dispute that elephants are highly complex, social animals, they have not provided a companion for Billy for nearly three years, or lent him to another facility where he could socialize with other elephants. Now he exhibits stereotypic behavior, a normal response to confinement and isolation.
Although endless repetitive motion is well known to both human and animali behaviorists to be a symptom of psychological distress, Zoo staff deny that Billy's head-bobbing indicates a problem.
Claiming that elephants walk great distances only when necessary to find food, Zoo staff fail to explain the high incidence of arthritis and bone disease when adequate space for exercise is not provided.
In bull elephants, lack of conditioning also prolongs the period of musth, which is excrutiatingly painful, and which Billy has been suffering for months.
Zoo supporters were quick to claim that more elephants have died in sanctuaries in recent years than in zoos, neglecting to add that almost all the sanctuary fatalities occurred in their 50's while half of the deaths at L.A. Zoo since 1975 did not reach the age of 20.
So is it any wonder that people have come forward to ask that we do better? Speaker after speaker attacked the "celebrities and animal activists" as being unqualified to criticize their performance. In fact, Billy's advocates are extremely well-informed.
And, in fact, the Zoo is "owned, operated, and maintained by the City of Los Angeles" and its personnel are accountable to the public.

[Teresa Penner]

Personally I am thrilled with the outcome. I realize that indeed the elephants who will live in the exhibit are "fortunate". The economy, most of us are broke, except for some of the opponents to the exhibit. But for Los Angeles to be a part of and able to preserve, conserve and protect an endangered species is our responsibility as humans. I understand that we have troubles in LA but until our school children see a squealing baby elephant romping in its new home, "The Pachyderm Forrest" on a field trip, they are not going to know the pure joy of saving something even less fortunate than themselves, something more rare and special than they could even have imagined if it were not living and breathing right in front of their wonderful eyes. The truth is there is very little habitat left for wild animals and zoos will have the responsibility of seeing that animals will be protected from extinction for future generations to see. If it wasn't for Zoos the Sumatran Rhino, the Panda, just a few examples would be gone. I adore animals and am proud that I will be able to visit the endangered Asian Elephant at its new home sometime soon.

[Alex Datig]

Great job City of Los Angeles! Billy will get his chance to pro-create and live in a beautiful new home. It's really very hard to hear some of the comments made by the activists, whom if I may say so have members that know nothing about animal welfare. I wonder how many of them actually went to the zoo, bought a ticket, hiked up the hill and found Billy like I did. I'm not an elephant expert, just a zoo goer, but I found a happy, jolly and very sweet elephant at the L.A. Zoo when I went to visit him only two weeks ago. I spent about two hours at Billy's exhibit and tried to learn everything I could. Once I left the zoo, I realized that no one who has visited Billy really understands what he or she is arguing about. It's easy to post a 60 second video of Billy while he bored and say her is going "insane." That was not my experience when I visited him. Billy is domesticated; he seems to like his routine. Some celebrities can easily say Billy's space to roam is like that of three-car garage and that it's not enough. I would not compare Billy's exhibit to a three-car garage. But then, celebrities live in mansions and their lives demand space and grandiosity, I don't see how a celebrity could truly relate. I hope the celebrities speaking against Billy remember when their parents took them to the zoo and what it was like for them when they saw an elephant for the first time. Billy is that elephant to hundreds of thousands of inner city kids who can't afford to go to Kenya. -- The City of Los Angeles has done the best thing for the kids by voting to keep him and they did the best thing for Billy. He is wonderful and to know him his to love him, not feel sorry for him. Billy is a star of a charity called the L.A. Zoo. What charity can say they have a star like that?

[jeanne]

Give Billy the sanctuary he deserves and use that 40 million to house the homeless in our city. Los Angeles has the worst homeless problem in the country - disgrace.

I am a nature lover. Most of what I love, I have never seen. I will never get to Africa. I want to end elephant torture at our zoo. What does it take? Another dead elephant at the zoo?

[Drew Warren]

I personally can't wait to visit the "New and Improved" Pachyderm Forest from Hell.

Not only will we be able to see a psychotic and space deprived elephant displaying completely UNNATURAL BEHAVIORS in his new and natural concrete facility, but we'll also be enchanted by even more fortunate elephants as the zoo brings them in to create a herd, thus giving all the lucky inhabitants even LESS space to roam about than Billy currently has in his hardened and compacted earth enclosure. What progress!

The vet bills for all of these massive creatures, with foot and joint diseases from their inability to roam freely for miles a day, will be staggering and they will only have to suffer for maybe 15-25 years before they die prematurely by about 30-40 years. Who wants to keep them around for so long anyway? 60-70 years is such a commitment and let's face it, baby elephants really draw in the crowds, don't they?

And to think that all those silly world renowned elephant experts almost foiled this marvelous educational opportunity and remarkable advance in modern conservation. I don't know about you but I can't quite fully appreciate these enormous, social, and highly intelligent creatures unless I see them confined in cramped solitude and suffering at my local zoo.

Thank you LA Zoo and city council members for a job well done. Who better to know what is REALLY in the elephants best interests than uniformed poop scoopers, and politically ambitious city leaders who clearly have their own twisted agendas? You are indeed a collective pool of fine experts and we are truly lucky to have you representing our city and calling the shots.

We, your Los Angeles constituents, who did our homework and studied this issue well beyond your comfort level, will be watching your decisions more closely than ever. To quote a very wise woman, "Constituents, like elephants, have strong social networks and very long memories."

[Brittany]

I am shocked and appalled about the selfishness and greed of these people who want to keep poor Billy confined. Shame on you, you are all an example of everything that is going wrong in this country right now.

[sunshiny1]

Okay, all you whiners, you can stop already! The City Council voted in favor of the Zoo so why don't all of you go find some other facility to bash! The celebrities you brought in are ridiculous - please, Cher talking about someone living in a 3 car garage being like living in a closet - I guess when you live in a mansion your perspective tends to get a little messed up! Go take your extremist views somewhere else! And all you people complaining about the money - obviously if you had been following this issue you wouldn't be making the comments you are. Congrats Billy, City of LA and all people who will be able to see this wonderful animal in a great exhibit and appreciate it!

[Hema Bedasie]

I'm sure the people who supported the elephant exhibit would not want to be taken away from their families and kept in an unnatural environment, living in captivity for the rest of their lives, yet still they support this happening to the elephants simply because they can get something out of it...ignoring the elephants' feelings.

[Nellie]

To all the Negative MORONS out there.

It's people like you that make our lives a living hell!!!!
People get a life!!!. Were not asking YOU for the money so don't worry or cry about it. No human being or animals live forever. They get sick just like you and I and they get taken care of by the keepers like we get taken care of by our Doctors....

I am very happy that Billie gets to stay at the zoo and cannot wait to see his NEW HOME

[jennifer lee pryor]

I am an animal activist...we are not interested in closing zoos...we are interested in seeing humane treatment for Elephants. Billy will die sad and alone with his mad head bobbing till the end...what a sad day.
Stupid coucilmen, we will make sure they are voted out next time!

[Pragmatic]

To the person who thinks they can hear Gita crying- go take your meds.
You probably never even KNEW her. Her zoo family did- so give everyone a break. Go back to Drama 101 in high school.
To those who can't seem to understand the purpose and useage of micla vs general funds- read a good book like 'los angeles: structure of a city government'- educate yourselves about city finances and shut up already.
To those untrained folks on this blog who derisively call keepers 'uninformed pooper scoopers'- I guarantee you couldn't even get an INTERVIEW as a keeper, never mind a job- due to YOUR lack of qualifications. Do you even know what the qualifications ARE? So, go on and keep deluding yourself about how qualified and informed you are...
And for those of you who seem to have forgetten that people learn best through real life experiences- go read some John Dewey, Howard Gardner or Piaget so then maybe you could have a small clue about cognitive development or learning theory- ie: how people learn.
Fanatics fit a certain personality profile- and these animal rights activists are categorized right alongside people who join cults, hate organizations, and jihad terrorist groups. No compromise, no circumspection, no cooperation.
So to you fanatics- I hope some day you can all take a good long look in the mirror and figure out what inner demon is making you so crazy. Because I have a little hint for you: it's not the Zoo, or elephants, or Billy...
In the meantime, we'll all be at the Zoo enjoying watching Billy, and his new family and offspring take a nice dip in the pool on a warm summer day...

[Gentry Barrientios]

Retired game show hosts, washed up movie stars, and radical animal rights extremist groups want to run the LA Zoo? None of them know squat about running a zoo. None of them are animal welfare professionals. They're just anti-zoo, nothing else. Let the animal care and welfare professionals at the LA Zoo do their job.

[Bill]

Kudos to the City Council for voting to keep Billy in Los Angeles. Our children thank you! During these difficult economic times, an affordable visit to the Zoo means so much for families. Thank you for voting to improve the elephant habitat, and for your support of our community's Zoo. You truly made the right decision.

[RowanM]

Scorecard:

"Zoo professionals" who have a vested interest in keeping their jobs: 1

Billy: 0

[RowanM]

RE: Rwheeler's comment "Some people DO live comfortably in an apartment the size of a 3-car garage" -

yeah - it's called "prison."

[tigerstripes]

What a great day! The new elephant exhibit will be a joy, just like the new gorilla exhibit. Watching these animal ambassadors will teach those watching a new respect and reverence for all animals. Thank goodness the City Council came to their senses. I hope Cardenas' voting constituents remember his self-serving behavior come his next election.

To the extremists -- for every Billy, there are hundreds of elephants in Asia crammed into compounds, or chained to a tree with nowhere to go, as Billy was before he came to America. Please take your money and do some good over there with it. If you hate the zoo, fine, that's your right; just stay away, and chew on your hate at home.

[Nellie]

HELLO EVERYONE.....
BILLIE HAS A MESSAGE FOR ALL THE NEGATIVE PEOPLE OTHER..

DEAR NEGATIVE FRIENDS,
I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I'VE ALWAYS LOVED MY HOME AT THE L.A ZOO. THE KEEPERS TREAT ME LIKE A KING. SO PLEASE DONT WORRY ABOUT ME SOON I WILL HAVE MY FRIENDS JOIN ME IN PARADISE.

MR. BARKER ENJOY YOUR RETIREMENT AND CHER GO BACK TO THE STUDIO AND MAKE A HIT RECORD.....

AND TO ALL MY REAL FRIENDS AT THE ZOO. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT

LOVE,
BILLIE THE ELEPHANT

[Barb]

I am so glad the the city council decided to go forward with this project. It is wonderful to see Elephants live and upclose as opposed to on the TV. Look at their feet, hear them breathe, listen to the sounds of such a magnificent Mammal. There is nothing quite like it. Yes...roaming free sounds great but there really are not any left that actually roam free. Most are in protected areas. Experiening elephants is what inspires one to want to conserve them and their habitat . I hope greater LA folks and their visitors really enjoy this exhibit....it should be wonderful.

[Brady Westwater]

Why hasn't a single news story I can find have a list of how the council persons individually voted?

[Asian Elephant Fan]

Awesome! I'm glad the Pachyderm Forest exhibit can move forward and Billy will get a new, much-improved home. Most of the opponents of the exhibit seem to be anti-zoo, and nothing short of closing zoos will make them happy. This zoo and others around the world donate tons of money for conservation programs in the field for wild elephants. Having elephants in zoos not only ensures that they will exist for generations to come, but helps their wild cousins survive in a time when habitat is being lost they are being poached as inconvenient "pests."

Plus, people should remember that the 42 million wasn't diverted from other programs such as relief for the homeless, school improvement, etc, that others mention. Get real and grow up. Los Angeles is messed up to give so much air time to celebrities who obviously just want the publicity.

[fan of reason]

YEAH!!!!

I have renewed faith in our city council for making a sound decision today! They absolutely did the right thing! They asked important questions and they listened to the correct facts (from the experts). And by the way, for those not present or not listening...the budget committee declared that it would cost the city more money to discontinue the exhibit than to go forward. So, not only did Billy and the citizens of LA win today, but so did TRUTH and REASON!

Thank you city council for permiting Billy the opportunity to THRIVE in the new home he deserves and for allowing Los Angeles the WORLD CLASS ZOO that our city deserves!

[christine]

Thank you to all of the supporters of this project for making Billy's future look so much brighter. I believe he will be very happy in his new home surrounded by his "family" and with his new "girlfriends." What a happy day for L.A.! Thank you, City Council,for seeing through the ridiculous rantings of extremists whose agenda is clearly to close zoos. Zoos play an important role in our world today. It would be great if the naysayers would play a more positive role in the bigger picture. Thier seathing has gotten very old and is not serving thier mission, nor the willdife they claim to love. And all of that anger can't possibly be good for the individuals spewing it.

[Tony W.]

I think many people got wrapped up in their personal feelings, inaccurate facts, rhetoric and anthropomorphic beliefs and, please forgive the pun, missed the elephant in the room. The real and only issue here is, “The eventual extinction of Asian elephants.” There is nothing more important in this entire saga than the eventual loss of an entire species of majestic animals and our failure to act to save them. The only real crime would be to do nothing to save Asian elephants from extinction. I doubt there is a single person out there that would not agree that preventing Asian elephants from becoming extinct is very important. Simply put, all that other garbage being discussed pales in comparison.

Let us deal with simple facts. Facts we can all agree on and that are easily proved.

1. Asian elephants are being hunted to extinction.

2. The California Condor and the Cheetah have both been brought back from the brink of extinction with successful breeding programs.

3. Billy is an Asian elephant.

4. The Los Angeles Zoo wants to build a large exhibit and breeding program to save Asian elephants.

5. If sent to the PAWS sanctuary, Billy will not be allowed to breed. Go to their web site and watch the video of the founder explaining breeding will never be allowed at PAWS.

6. The PAWS sanctuary houses their elephants at night on concrete floors in the barns. According to PAWS housing elephants on concrete is a cause for their foot problems.

7. Elephants at the Pachyderm Forest will be allowed to roam the dirt and grass exhibit 24/7 and never be forced to stand on concrete.

The Asian elephant is set to make a comeback and with a little assistance be removed from the endangered species list. It is because of breeding programs like the one that will be opened in Pachyderm Forest.

To do anything else would make us complaisant in the extinction of a species of animal that we could have easily saved. To prevent this noble cause is the same as pulling the trigger and killing them yourselves.

[Connie]

WOW! Reading all these posts is really something. I found out about Billy through a friend that e-mailed me to say Billy is getting his new Digs! I had sent about 30 of my favoirte friends the story about him, when he might have been shipped out from where he has been as a "baby".... from what he knows as "home" and who feeds him and who talks to him and what vets take care of him. Then I came to this site! Was any animal "designed" to be kept confined? No! There have been "creatures" roaming the earth since it's inception. As those have died off and man evolved... we roamed, it has come down to all of us learning how to be "confined", even in a 3 car garage if need be, for the safety and welfare of those inhabitants. I have 9 horses, have had for more then 20 years... they live in a 3 car garage (600 sq ft) each and are healthy and happy. And once in a while, they too can get bored and maybe pace or maybe paw or maybe nicker to one another... but half of them are in their 20's, huuummm.... if they were on the BLM land running "free" the average horse trying to "make it" lives to 8-9 and they are left behind the herd...,if they become sick or injured, that's life. Should I turn them all loose? Should all the animals that live confined, just be allowed to run "free" What about your dog(s) that many of you have, confined to an apartment? or house? don't they have a right to roam free? No one can save all the animals of the world, and the day you are born, you are working towards the day you die, that's just part of it all. The people that work at the ZOO should be proud, they walked in there and applied for a job because they like or love animals and wanted to be around them in some way. Thanks to all of them "we" can all go see a variety of animals, and learn about them. My girlfriend has been there since she started at 14, as a volunteer and she's now 42, because she loves working there. Thanks to the counscil people for upholding what the MAJORITY had VOTED for in 2006, isn't that why we vote? What a lucky elephant to have those kind of "digs" I wish all elephants and all animals had that kind of bond money behind them! For those of you that are mad... please don't go to the ZOO and hurt if you were to see him. And DON'T take your children or grand children to a ZOO... just tell them that all animals should roam the planet and be free. There are many things in this world that are wrong, focus on your family and take care of them, Billy will be just fine with his other captive friends, have for years... in God We Trust.

[Deann]

Thanks goodness the extremists agenda of closing zoos one animal at a time was seen for what it is by Council. Pat Derby sure showed her stripes in her rude and uneducated remarks. LA Zoo deserves recognition for moving the zoo forward and ensuring the education of our youngsters continues to be a multi sensory and not a virtual experience. To all those who state that the zoo staff are nothing more than poop scoopers shame on you - these are dedicated staff with years of education and knowledge. To further suggest that their only interest is protecting their jobs is unfounded and demeaning!

[White Elephant For Taxpayers]

No wonder the City of Los Angeles is in economic trouble, and facing a huge financial deficit! City officials are moving forward with spending $42 million on a new home for elephants, while taxpayers are being hit with layoffs, and are struggling to keep their homes.

Unemployment has reached an all-time high. The state is out of money and the City of Los Angeles is operating in the red.

If the City of Los Angeles has money to waste on building cramped shelters for elephants, what is it doing for its taxpaying residents in foreclosure or who are losing their homes?

Billy would be better off at the PAWS sanctuary where he would have ample room to exercise, and the City could have shaved millions off of the deficit.

Taxpayers (just like elephants) have very good memories, especially at the polls. We'll remember this at election-time.

[Politics Trumps Truth]

Billy the Elephant exploited as a political pawn..by a labor union!

Too bad the majority of L.A. City council members allowed a labor union to decide the fate of Billy the elephant.

Congratulations. Construction workers will get this one job.

The elephant will forever be confined and taxpayers will forever have to foot the bill.

But what will these fine construction workers do when they're done building the elephant exhibit? Build an enclosure for zoo officials? And another one for inhumane council members? And then, finally, one last exhibit for short-sighted construction workers? That's something I would pay to see!

[Politics at its Finest]

Excerpt:
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.”

Interesting paragraph.
1) Politics while on the job? At taxpayers' expense? Is this part of zoo staff members' job description?
2) The zoo's fundraising arm? Are they hired to spread false propaganda to dupe taxpayers into supporting this ill-conceived, inhumane money pit?
3) Can we trust council members who voted against the exhibit and now "overwhelmingly" voted for it? What made them change their mind? Maybe it's time to start tracking their voting records more closely for signs of undue influence.

[Enclosure for School Teachers on the Endangered Species List]

Q: Who's going to pay the salaries of the 1,000 trade union workers for construction of the elephant exhibit at the L.A. Zoo?

A: The city is broke and taxpayers are losing their homes and their jobs due to the current global economic crisis. Maybe these construction workers won't mind getting paid with I.O.U.s

Also, the Los Angeles Unified School District is laying off teachers, so all those school teachers who are so gung-ho about going ahead with the exhibit might soon find themselves applying for a job at the zoo.

Or maybe those teachers belong in an endangered species exhibit at the zoo. We could enroll them in an endangered species breeding program and have school children visit them in their barren, boring enclosures.

I'd pay to see that!

[Scott]

Two questions, How are the elephants in San Diego Wild Animal Park's enclosure (Similar size)

And why do elephants walk 100's of miles a day in the wild?

I ask the second cause I'm sure my Cat would walk lots more if she didn't have a food dish and a water dish that was ready for her every day...

The same people who say Elephants are social animals that walk 100's of miles a day are the same that think putting him in a satuary all by himself is a good idea...If he's social than being in a big lonely place is still being lonely...

[matison]

LET BILLY FREE