Conservationist Daphne Sheldrick: Billy the elephant belongs in a sanctuary

Dr. Daphne Sheldrick, chair of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya (which was named for her late husband, naturalist David Sheldrick), has dedicated her life to protecting elephants, mostly in her native Kenya.

Sheldrick is an outspoken advocate for the release of the L.A. Zoo's sole elephant, Billy, to a wildlife sanctuary.  She recently wrote about Billy for the Times' Opinion section.  From her article:

It has been scientifically established that elephants are "human" in terms of emotion, a finding I wholeheartedly endorse. Gregarious creatures, they have a strong sense of family and of death; they form friendships that span a lifetime. Like humans, they need the companionship and comfort of friends. Billy has been alone since May 2007, when his companion, Ruby, the zoo's last African elephant, was relocated to the Performing Animal Welfare Society's 75-acre sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif. Billy should be released to join her there.

Consider this: The worst punishment we inflict on human wrongdoers is solitary confinement and life imprisonment. Is it right to inflict this punishment on an innocent animal that mirrors humans in terms of emotion, longevity and age progression -- and moreover has a memory that far surpasses our own?

Sheldrick was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006 for her conservation efforts in Kenya (her knighthood was the first to be awarded in Kenya since the country received its independence from Britain in 1963).

Do you agree with Sheldrick that Billy should be sent to a sanctuary?  Or is Jack Hanna right that Billy belongs in the L.A. Zoo's planned Pachyderm Forest?

--Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Billy opens wide for jet of water handler Jeff Briscoe sprays from a hose. Credit: Ken Lubas / Los Angeles Times.

Comments

[Tiffany]

Responsible breeding is hardly done for money. Not to say that all show dog breeders are responsible breeders. Many are not. But many are.
The goal of a *responsible breeder* is never to make money, it is to keep the breed healthy. Anyway, the genetic health tests, stud fees (for a good health-tested stud), etc add up to a cost too great for a good breeder to make any profit 99% of the time.
I don't like PETA or their cause to get rid of domesticated animals.

[Judy Bratis, R.N.]

I agree with Dr. Sheldrick 100%. The $42 million elephant exhibit at the LA Zoo is too small for an animal that travels 30 to 50 miles a day. I'm surprised that Mr. Hanna didn't know that. My seven year old grandson does. No zoo anywhere can ever meet the physical and mental needs of an elephant. Send Billy to a sanctuary NOW. I've lost respect for Mr. Hanna. I thought he was an animal expert. Obviously not!!

[Time2Reflect]

Ruby was NOT Billy's companion.

1) They are different species.

2) They barely knew each other.

3) She didn't even like him. (She chomped his ear!)

Please don't think that they were "bosom buddies" and that they will be "reunited" at PAWS.

They wouldn't even be housed together there!

At the Los Angeles Zoo, Billy will have true companions - females who are the same species as him, that will be allowed to socialize with him, and who will be given the chance to breed with him.

Billy deserves that opportunity.

Not to be locked away in a lone pasture for the rest of his life.

Support the Los Angeles Zoo and Pachyderm Forest.

Please ... do it for Billy.

[D.Perry]

Billy does belong in an elephant sanctuary.
Why do humans have such tunnel vision where the elephants are concerned?

[Suzanne Jeanine]

If you look at the polls n the Hanna article you will see that the majority of caring, and informed individuals are in favor of elephants being in AZA accredited zoos, and that Billy is enjoying the highest level of care possible. Let the LA Zoo complete this project so he can enjoy the best home possible in the Pachyderm Forest at the LA Zoo. All of this hype is only prolonging his current situation.

[L.A. Voter]

Having read and weighed in on this topic through a couple of blog posts in the past week, I can state with absolute confidence what will happen here.

Despite the fact that Dame Daphne Sheldrick has FIFTY years of impeccable credentials in caring for elephants throughout their lifecycle, including actually returning them to the wild (as opposed to the theoretical repopulation zoos promise for elephants without specifics) she will be viciously attacked, her expertise contemptuously derided, and this woman who has unquestionably given her entire life to elephants will be dismissed as a dupe of dilettantes, crackpots and "celebrities."

If you don't agree with keeping an elephant, for now, in an enclosure that resembles a parking lot, with only the promise of an enclosure in the future of 3.6 acres, shared with three other elephants, for the next several decades of his life, and entirely kowtow to the self-proclaimed expertise of those who know elephants only in captive situations, which is like judging all the potential behavior and psychology of humanity by observing prisoners and boarding school occupants -- then you are an idiot.

I'm very sorry, Dame Daphne, that the decades you and your staff have devoted, the life you have entirely spent saving and returning elephants to their actual habitat, will count for nothing in the bastion of expertise that is L.A.

I can't wait to see if the first derogatory comment accuses Sheldrick of being a dupe of Lily Tomlin, or (my favorite) that she since she's only worked with African elephants for fifty years, she can have nothing of worth to say about Asian elephants...

[CreamyDove]

I agree with Daphne. Billy should go to a sanctuary where he will have the space and freedom he needs to thrive. Elephants are migratory herd animals and don't do well in zoos and circuses. Their existence in these venues is completely unnatural for them and shortens their lifespan. A study published recently in the journal, Science, found that elephants live much longer in the wild than they do in zoos. That is because traditional zoos can't meet their needs. Billy's repetitive head-bobbing is a sign of great distress in an elephant. It will not go away until he is allowed to live like a normal elephant rather than the deprived, stunted existence he is now experiencing. Increasing the LA Zoo exhibit to 3.5 acres will not be anywhere near enough to solve this problem. Billy is a member of a critcally endangered species. It is inconsistent for the LA Zoo to claim elephant conservation as its mission and then to force Billy to live in what are inhumane conditions for his species.

[Aaron H]

I completely agree with Dr. Shendrick. Studies are studies. And Jack Hanna owns a zoo, of course he's going to speak out on behalf of one. To do otherwise would put his zoo, his alliances, and his reputation at risk.

[MissPosh]

It is obvios that the pro-zoo folks are using a software program to rig the vote. The pattern is not very subtle. How despicable. However, it helps to illustrate the ruthless and underhanded tactics that zoos are willing to use to get their way.

Dame Daphne is absolutely right. Billy should go to a sanctuary and no longer be under the control of selfish exploiters. If you zoo folks think Billy's existence is so great, perhaps we should lock you into small closets so you can have a blast like he's having because his small, deprived enclosure is the equivalent of locking a person in a closet. I predict that you all will be bobbing your heads up and down repetitively within two weeks. Don't want to go for that? I didin't think so!

[Marlene Fenton]

I've grow up going to the LA ZOO. I have many happy memories and learned a tremendous amount about many different animals I would have never learned about had I not seen them in a zoo. Seeing something for yourself is much more powerful than watching a video or animatronic creature. The smell, the presence, of being in front of magnificent creatures is something that can't be replicated. Elephants have always been a particular favorite of mine. Billy has excellent care and should stay at the zoo!

[Sandra]

Let's see...we have a guy who worked for the zoo industry his entire life and a woman who worked for elephants her entire life . Who do you think has Billy's best interest at heart?

[Time2Reflect]

CreamyDove ~

Should Billy go to the PAWS sanctuary, space is the only thing he will have.

He won't be allowed to be housed with other elephants - neither females nor males.

He would live out his days in an over-sized pasture until the day he dies.

The zoo already treats him humanely and is now poised to give him a life that cannot even come close to what the sanctuary could offer him.

Why not let them give him the life they know he deserves?

And MissPosh ~

The analogy you have presented doesn't hold true.

It paints a picture that ignores the facts in this particular issue (animal welfare, education, conservation, fiscal responsibility), the amount of research that has been done, and the input of people who have dedicated their lives to caring for animals.

A well-informed and comprehensive opinion has been weighed equal to the emotional appeal you have presented.

That's a dangerous road to take.

And the one who would suffer the most from that kind of thinking is Billy.

[KConwell]

All due respect to Daphne Sheldrick, but she hasn't been provided with all the info in this case. Billy and Ruby, who weren't friends to begin with, would not be "reunited" at PAWS.

Also, per her own comments in a recent news article, she stated of the elephant deaths at her own preserve: "over the years, we have lost 55 orphans to disease and shock, so around 150 orphaned elephants have passed through our hands." That's 1/3 of the elephants that have passed through her hands, dead?

Those in glass houses...

[C Foxx]

I think Billy should be sent to the sanctuary temporarily and let the LA Zoo finish the exhibit. This exhibit is larger than San Diego but unfortunately LA has very poor PR and Management. John Lewis the director cares about his salary and heading home to La Canada. he makes no effort to educate the public and make the zoo better. I think he's up to $200k. Jason Jacobs PR director is a sorry excuse, he couldn't write a public friendly Press release if his life depended on it. This whole situation about our elephants has been mishandled from Gita to Billy. We need a hands on director. Let's get new blood at our zoo, finish the exhibit and bring some more asian elephants and show the world that done right elephants can be kept and cared for humanely. P.S. there are dedicated keepers at this zoo that care about their charges

[Cat]

KConwells comment about Daphne Sheldrick is totally unfair:
"Also, per her own comments in a recent news article, she stated of the elephant deaths at her own preserve: "over the years, we have lost 55 orphans to disease and shock, so around 150 orphaned elephants have passed through our hands." That's 1/3 of the elephants that have passed through her hands, dead? "

Are you aware of the work Daphne does? Most of the deaths she was describing have been within the days following the orphaned elephants rescue- they arrived in such a bad state from wounds, starvation or with pneumonia that they could not possibly be saved. Daphne and her staff have worked miracles to save the lives of many orphans.

[Gillian Knowles]

Having just read a few of possibly many responses regarding Billy, may I add the points below: There is no room or justification for animals to be kept in zoos nowadays. We just about all have access to TV or online sites that we can sit in our own living rooms and watch the animals of this planet in their ntural habitats. I am a great supporter of Daphne Sheldrick - having 'adopted' Emily 13 years ago one of the orphan elephant calves that Daphne rescued and raised 15 years ago when it as a tiny baby was abandonded by it's mother and family (if you wish to look up Emily's story online then please do). My husband and I visited Kenya to speciafically visit and meet Emily which we did and what a privledge. Daphne'sa orphanage is world renowned. Emily was allowed to wander back into the wild when she was old enough and able to fend for herself and the reward is that in December 2008 Emily gave birth to her own calf in the wild, named Eve whose father is wild and whose other 'family' are wild. Emily revisited the sanctuary to introduce Eve after the calf was 4 days old, then they returned to the wild - all made possible by the care and dedication by Daphne and her keepers. If you allow the experts such as Daphne to help the others such as Billy then maybe you will be able to see the success. By the by, only having seen the photo online it looks to me like Billy is Far Eastern and not African in which case he would not be able to go to Africa, but there are sanctuaries in Burma and Thailand. Allow him the chance to spend just a short period of what is left of his life to experiencing what life in the wild should be like. Don't get bogged down with hollywood style emotions.

[LAKittyGirl]

You zoo folks are hilarious! Billy would have the chance to associate in some way and, from a small distance, with Nic, the other male Asian elephant at PAWS and the female Asian elephants. Billy cannot go to PAWS "temporarily" because part of the sanctuary philosophy is, that once an elephant gets there, they are promised a permanent home and will not be moved anymore.

You people who want Billy to remain at the LA Zoo are only thinking of yourselves; either making money off of him or because you want to be able to see him the couple of times per year you have nothing better to do than go to the zoo. In other words, you're selfish. Clearly, he would be better off at a sanctuary, not in a small zoo yard which is where he'll be even after this new exhibiti is finished. S-E-L-F-I-S-H!!!!!!!!