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Statement from Connie Morgan, president of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association: We thank the Los Angeles City Council for reaffirming its 2006 decision to build the Los Angeles Zoo’s Pachyderm Forest and for its continued support of what will not only be a humane, state-of-the art habitat for Billy and other endangered Asian elephants but a global leader in conservation efforts for this magnificent animal.
We want to give special thanks to Councilmember Tom LaBonge, Betty White, Slash, Jack Hanna, our donors and trustees, Springbanc Social Capital Advisors, the Service Employees International Union, the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
We also want to thank the zoo employees who rallied to save Billy’s home. They know Billy, love animals and recognize how important this habitat will be to Los Angeles.
Finally, we thank most of all the countless zoo visitors and Los Angeles citizens who spoke up, recognizing their voices needed to be heard.
Victory!!: The Los Angeles City Council voted 11-4 to continue construction of Pachyderm Forest. Read the L.A. Times article.
America's Best Zoos: Authors and zoo experts urge City Council to complete Pachyderm Forest: "We believe that, when it is completed, it will rank among the very best – if not the best – elephant exhibits in the nation, both for zoo visitors and especially for the elephant residents. " Read the letter.
Opinion Poll: Los Angeles city residents by an overwhelming 3-to-1 majority want the Los Angeles Zoo to continue to expand and upgrade its care for Asian elephants with the new Pachyderm Forest project, according to results from an independent polling firm released today. Read the press release.
Los Angeles Times: "Build It for Billy" The L.A. Times has endorsed completing the Pachyderm Forest! Read the Editorial.
Building Trade Unions Urge Los Angeles to Complete L.A. Zoo's Pachyderm Forest for Endangered Asian Elephants: Citing the potential loss of as many as 1,000 jobs, the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council today urged the Los Angeles City Council to finish the Los Angeles Zoo’s Pachyderm Forest elephant habitat rather than bow to the wishes of a small group of activists who want to stop the project. Read the Press Release.
L.A. Times: Seven in ten L.A. Times voters support keeping Billy at the Los Angeles Zoo. Read the Press Release.
Elephant Wisdom: Eat, Play, Love: Read Elephant Wisdom: Eat, Play, Love, by Teresa Penner. "When I planned my adventure to Cambodia and Thailand last year I had to include what has become an essential part of any trip for me now: wildlife. Previous trips to Africa and Australia have me totally hooked..."
L.A. Zoo's Elephant Keepers Call for Finishing Billy the Elephant's New Home: The LA Zoo’s Elephant Keepers held a press conference to release an Open Letter to the LA City Council calling for completion of the Pachyderm Forest. Read the article on the Southern California Public Service Workers website.
Jack Hanna on Zoo Elephants: Jack Hanna, Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and host of the Emmy Award-winning show Jack Hanna's Into the Wild, announced that the L.A. Zoo's new elephant habitat "will set a new standard for the care of elephants at zoos, providing a home that will be even larger than what Asian elephants enjoy at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Not only will Billy and any future residents have a huge amount of room in which to roam, they will continue to enjoy 24-hour monitoring, state-of-the-art medical care, love, nurturing and a level of attention that sanctuaries cannot provide.”
- Watch an interview with Jack Hanna
- Read the Press Release
- Read Jack's letter to the City Council
- Read Jack's Op-Ed in the L.A. Times
Betty White Fights Back: Betty was appointed Los Angeles's "Ambassador to the Animals" by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in 2006. Read what our city's most celebrated animal advocate has to say about elephants at the Los Angeles Zoo. Read 'A Special Message from Betty White'
Breaking News: LA Zoo Commission votes overwhelmingly to support Pachyderm Forest. Read Motion and Statement by Connie Morgan.
Los Angeles Times: "Many L.A. families still think of the zoo that way -- as a window into the larger world we want our children to know. We get angry when the window shrinks and there's less for our kids to see." Read the article: 'Zoo Without Elephants Would be a Loss for the Children of L.A.'
L.A. Daily News: "Councilman Tony Cardenas was clearly moved by the time he spent with elephants, and no one can doubt that he sincerely cares about animal welfare. However, when he stopped listening to the elephant experts at the Los Angeles Zoo and started listening to anti-zoo crusaders and their celebrity supporters, he got pointed in the wrong direction." Read the article: 'Trained Experts Know What Elephants Need.'
Huffington Post: "The Los Angeles Zoo is in the middle of constructing an expansive elephant habitat that will be bigger than the gorgeous facility at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, yet the aforementioned well-intentioned but under-informed people have repeatedly attempted to derail the project in favor of sending Billy to a sanctuary, even a theoretical sanctuary that has yet to be designed, built, or tested." Read the article: 'Zoo Is Not a Dirty Word.'
Huffington Post: "The people filing into City Hall wearing "Free Billy" T-shirts and stickers aren't actually calling for his return to the wild." Read the article: ' The Myth of the Wild.'
Columbus Dispatch: This article counters the conclusions of a recent study comparing lifespan of elephants in European zoos versus the wild. In Ohio, and elsewhere in AZA-accredited zoos, elephants live as long as their wild counterparts. Click to read the article.
Financial Analysis: Cost of snubbing Los Angeles voters on zoo project now projected at $17 million and counting. “Within 60 days, the city must drain more than $9 million from its general fund, enough to pay the starting salaries of approximately 150 new police officers for an entire year.” Click here to read the analysis.
World Zoo Today: "Living in a zoo drastically shortens the lives of Asian and African elephants, researchers are reporting ... Paul Boyle, the senior vice president for conservation and education at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, called the work 'terribly flawed' and said it reflected an antizoo agenda." Read 'Critical Report on Health of Zoo Elephants is Debated'
