December 8, 2008 by Elizabeth Willoughby
Actress-comedienne Lily Tomlin and television personality Bob Barker are campaigning to put a stop to the new elephant exhibit under construction at the Los Angeles Zoo, now in its third phase of construction.
They are also trying to “Save Billy,” the bull elephant who has resided at the zoo for 20 years. Barker has offered $100 thousand dollars to move Billy to a wildlife sanctuary in Northern California.
“How many elephants have to die at the Los Angeles Zoo before the zoo comes to terms with the fact that it is impossible to have elephants in a zoo and remain healthy and happy?” says Barker. “Other zoos – the enlightened, progressive zoos – have already discontinued their elephant exhibits. Sixteen elephants have died in the Los Angeles Zoo. About half of them died before they reached the age of 20. In the wild elephants live 65 or 70 years. In zoos the average lifespan, I have read, is 34 years. But at the Los Angeles Zoo, some elephants are dying before they reach 20 years of age.”
“They not only die early in zoos,” added Tomlin, “The word ‘zoo’ is sort of elephant speak for Guantanamo. They are suffering and being tortured daily just by virtue of their confinement.”
Successful in a campaign to move another LA Zoo elephant, Ruby, to sanctuary, Tomlin was also active in the campaign to have Jenny, a Dallas Zoo elephant for 22 years, moved to a Tennessee sanctuary.
“Elephants are so highly intelligent and so social and they make such deep bonds with other elephants,” says Tomlin. “[In zoos] they suffer; cruelly they suffer.”
Liked this? Get future articles by
5 comments
Hurray for these two wonderful people!! We will never stop fighting and putting the elephants' plight in the spotlight!! The elephants suffer in zoos and definitely in circuses. To see video footage of cruel elephant abuse to train circus elephants, go here. http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=carson_barnes&Player=wm
Actually, It's quite unfortunate to see two people who can so much good focus on an issue they are so uneducated about. Zoos may be the only chance children ever get to see an elephant live and form a bond with these magnificent animals. The elephant in the L.A. Zoo deserves a new habitat, where he can breed and bring hope to the survival of this species. Instead, Bob and Lily would rather see him castrated and living in a habitat where twelve hours of its day would be spent on concrete, which is very damaging to an elephants feet. I would think they would congratulate the zoo rather than look for their own personal gains in this matter.
Kevin,
Your facts are completely wrong.
Kevin,
I believe that children can enjoy elephants in larger surroundings, such as some of the wild animal parks which let them roam in a far greater areas than just a few thousand square feet within the zoo confines.
Imagine your equivalent of being restricted to a 40 x 40 room for the rest of your life. Think you would remain sane?
The L.A. zoo's new habitat is to be 6 acres, just about 4 of which will be habitable. The zoo will be housing several elephants there. Elephants typically roam 20-30 miles a day. Kevin, in zoos children will see an "elephant child hiding behind a tree." They will learn nothing but cages & chains. Perhaps, even a sense of hopelessness.
Great child rearing.
6 months ago