Councilman says elephants and L.A. Zoo don't mix

For years debate has raged over the fate of the elephants at the Los Angeles Zoo. Similar debates have played out at zoos across the country. Now Los Angeles City Councilman Tony Cardenas has entered the fray.

Cardenas said Tuesday that he would ask the City Council to outlaw the keeping of elephants at the zoo. As The Times' Carla Hall writes, the proposal will complicate plans for a new elephant enclosure at the facility:

For the Los Angeles Zoo, a city agency, that's one more bump in the road -- which has been long and fraught with controversy -- to building its new $40-million elephant exhibit.

The zoo hopes to bring in Asian elephants to exhibit and breed. But if Cardenas' two motions regarding elephants were to pass, construction on the new zoo exhibit would halt. Cardenas said that the zoo has not yet begun building structures, but has spent $10 million to grade and prepare the land.

Zoo officials, who have planned their own afternoon news conference in front of the site, have said the project is 30% complete. 'First and foremost, this is a humanitarian effort,' said Cardenas, who now joins the ranks of animal welfare advocates who say it is cruel to keep the giant mammals in enclosures that may measure a few acres but don't allow them to roam for miles as they do in the wild.

With their massive weight, many zoo elephants also suffer severe and chronic foot and joint ailments. (Over the years. zoos have changed the surfaces the animals stand on to try to alleviate those problems.)

See Carla Hall's report on the L.A. zoo elephants. And check out the video report too.

-- Steve Padilla

Photo: An elephant at the Los Angeles Zoo in 2006. Credit: Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[sandra m]

Thanks to Councilman Cardenas for his well-thought out arguments against the proposed zoo exhibit and FOR a ELEPHANT SANCTUARY. Nothing less will do for a world-class city like L.A. An elephant sanctuary won't cost too much. Please encourage your representative to support Councilman Cardenas.

[sandra m]

Thanks to Councilman Cardenas for his well-thought out arguments against the proposed zoo exhibit and FOR a ELEPHANT SANCTUARY. Nothing less will do for a world-class city like L.A. An elephant sanctuary won't cost too much. Please encourage your representative to support Councilman Cardenas.

[Gentry]

When will municipalities that run zoos understand that politicians, movie stars, celebrities and animal rights activists don't know the first thing about elephant care. The politicians and celebrities are getting media face time out of stories like this and the animal rights activists get to criticize zoos with the hope the exposure will get them some more cash donations. By the way, elephants sway at that Tennessee sanctuary, too. I've seen them do it on the sanctuary cameras. Think animal rights activists care about elephants? Not hardly. They're using these animals as a tool to achieve the long sought goal of closing down zoos. Get smart LA. Get informed. Don't let politicians and celebrities tell you how things are. Find our for yourselves.

[Liz]

I think it is shameful a Progressive city like Los Angeles still cages elephants in a zoo. They have put commerce before ethics.

[Tarty]

The only thing that disturbs me greatly about the LA Zoo is the elephant exhibit. It breaks my heart to see the small enclosure that the African elephant calls home. I hate to see Billy standing there, bobbing his head and going through the same repetitive movements over and over and over. And I disagree with Gentry. The elephants at the Wild Animal Park do not exhibit those repetitive behaviors.
It saddens me to hear that Billy will have to wait 2 years to be moved to a larger space.

While I will continue to support the LA Zoo--I've been a member for 8 years-- I feel that even the new Pachyderm Forest will not be adequate and I support Councilman Cardena's proposal

[dlh]

This issue should not be subjected to debate between politically correct amateurs and pachyderm professionals. Actors love attention and should stick to acting rather than waste precious time and energy arguing issues they know little or nothing about. Websites such as WIkiPedia, LCA, and PAWS don't qualify as valid research. They are driven by passionate folks who think they know what's best for an animal's welfare, yet they refuse to listen to what actual professionals have to say on the matter.

Please show us the research on any of the recommended retirement habitats that have any sense of business acumen which would indicate support for the "best" interests of the animals. They're always scrambling for funds, the care of the animals is sporadic, and they're run by folks without a clue as to how to operate a long-term care facility for very special needs residents. That's hardly a solution.

The Pachyderm Forest at the L.A. Zoo is a well thought out solution and should be embraced rather than attacked by those too passionate to actually take the time to understand what's best for the animals.

[tigerstripes]

This is a non-issue and it's a pity that our tax dollars are being spent to raise it yet again. It was discussed and decided previously by the City Council. The recent lawsuit brought by a TV actor was dismissed in court. This is grandstanding by Tony Cardenas, so he can stand next to a couple of B-list celebrities and get his name in the papers.
Whether you like it or not, Asian elephants need to be managed, to ensure their survival, both in the wild and in Zoos, because they have very little natural environment left and nowhere to go in Asia. And while everyone keeps singing the praises of SD's Wild Animal Park, don't forget they had an elephant matricide just last year, so simply scooping up the elephants and dropping them off in an unmanaged area doesn't work as well as the animal extremists would have you think. Gentry is right, if you care, look into it for yourself. Don't blindly swallow the extremists' kool-aid.

[J Cantara]

What is important is that the needs of this animal is met. The L.A. Zoo has clearly shown that they do not know how to care for their animals. Just look at the stats and it will show you this. Place the elephant where it would be best suited and as close to it's natural habitat as possible. When things like this come up everyone wants to be an expert. Listen to THE expert that spoke about the elephant and let's do the right thing for this animal. Too bad the kids want to see the elephant in the zoo. They can watch the Animal Planet or Discovery Channel for this. The animal is suffering and it needs to be moved NOW!!!!