The L.A. City Council voted on Wednesday to direct the Los Angeles Zoo to submit a report within 30 days regarding the recent death of two Asian Elephants. The item was brought to the council by Councilmember Bob Blumenfield and passed 14-0. The council is seeking information from the zoo about the recent deaths of elephants Jewel and Shaunzi and the zoo’s compliance or non-compliance with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) standards of elephant care. Animal rights groups have been advocating for the closure of the zoo’s elephant exhibit and the release of the elephants to sanctuaries. 

Since the zoo’s opening in 1966, 17 elephants have died. Shaunzi, a 53-year-old Asian elephant, was euthanized by the L.A. Zoo in January. In a public statement on the elephant’s death, the zoo reported that staff observed Shaunzi being unable to stand up in her enclosure. Her inability to stand on her own, after an “extraordinary effort” by Zoo staff to help her up, led to their “heartbreaking decision” to euthanize her. The zoo euthanized Jewel, who was 61 years old, in January 2023 due to her “declining health.” 

In response to Shaunzi’s death, animal rights groups renewed calls for the closure of the zoo’s elephant exhibit and the release of the two remaining elephants to sanctuaries. They argued that the conditions of the enclosure, and that zoo captivity in general cause physical and mental deterioration in elephants that lead to “acute suffering and compromised life spans.” According to a study from the UK, Asian elephants in particular do poorly in captivity, with higher infant mortality rates and shorter lifespans than their wild counterparts. The study states that Asian elephants in captivity have “Troubling rates of lameness, infertility, infanticide, tuberculosis and herpes.” 

The natural propensity of the species to be “wide-ranging” – elephants in the wild can travel up to 50 miles a day – and “socially complex” makes captivity difficult. According to a recent study in North America, elephants in captivity walk a little over three miles each day on average. Arthritis is common in captive elephants – a condition likely brought on by lack of exercise and the hard surfaces of exhibits. The Asian elephant exhibit at the L.A. Zoo has three acres of outdoor space. The L.A. Zoo says their elephant exhibit “Greatly exceeds the standards set out by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (which awarded it a Significant Achievement Exhibit Award).” Activists say it isn’t enough.

The consequences of captivity have been widely publicized by animal rights groups in Los Angeles who claim the elephants have suffered debilitating foot diseases and “zoochosis” – psychosis in zoo animals. Advocates, citing the zoo’s elephant veterinary records, say the environment at the L.A. Zoo is harming the elephants. 

Patricia O’Reilly, who spoke in favor of the motion during public comment last week during a meeting of the council’s Neighborhood and Community Enrichment Committee, suggested that the council request detailed veterinary records from the zoo and a log of rototilling for the elephant enclosure. “Walking on compacted dirt can cause degenerative foot disease and also osteomyelitis,” O’Reilly said, saying that those conditions led to the deaths of two other elephants in the last 20 years. “This is what kills most elephants in captivity.” 

The group In Defense of Animals named the L.A. Zoo as the worst zoo for elephants in 2023, later citing the deaths of Shauzi and Jewel as a clear impetus for immediate action by the city council. Former Westside City Councilmember Paul Koretz authored multiple motions to move one of the zoo’s elephants, Billy, to a sanctuary. Billy is a bull elephant who has been separated from the other elephants, in a smaller enclosure, for over 30 years. Activists have campaigned for his release for two decades. Voice for the Animals Foundation says Billy has long exhibited signs of “Poor psychological welfare,” which they claim is “Likely caused by restriction of movement, size of enclosure, social isolation, or lack of complexity in the physical environment.” The “Free Billy” campaign has had the support of local leaders and a number of celebrities – including Cher.

Activists also want the other Asian elephant, Tina, to be transferred to a sanctuary. Elephant sanctuaries have become a viable alternative to zoos for elephants who aren’t fit for release into the wild. Kiersten Cluster, an activist with Elephant Guardians of Los Angeles, wrote that at an accredited sanctuary, “Billy would have at least 15 acres to roam, forage, and engage in other natural behaviors” in “Relative privacy, peace, and quiet.” 

Tina and Billy would not be the first elephants L.A. Zoo sent to a sanctuary after public pressure. In 2007, Ruby was transferred to a sanctuary in Northern California. Ruby’s companion Gita died in 2005. A USDA investigation into Gita’s death found that zoo staff “Failed to assure an elephant received veterinary care in adequate time.” 

In 2015, the Detroit Zoo became the first zoo in the U.S. to transfer its Asian elephants to a sanctuary solely on ethical grounds. Zoo leadership said that despite attempting to improve the conditions of the exhibit, namely by enlarging it, they were unable to offset the negative effects of zoo captivity significantly. Both elephants were sent to an elephant sanctuary in Northern California, the same one activists are eyeing for the L.A. Zoo’s elephants. Since then, more than 20 zoos nationwide have closed their elephant exhibits.

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield recommended that Billy be released to a sanctuary in 2022. A motion unanimously approved by the Council’s Personnel, Audits, and Animal Welfare Committee recommended Billy’s release. The motion has yet to be brought to the full council. Elephant advocates are hoping the Council’s vote this week will lead to further changes at the L.A. Zoo.

Westside Voice reached out to the L.A. Zoo for comment on the Council vote and activist efforts. Max Pulsinelli, the zoo’s Chief Communications Officer responded: “The L.A. Zoo will gladly provide the City Council with the requested information. The activists protesting elephants at the Zoo have no bearing on this in any way.”

Photo from Wiki Commons in the public domain. Asian Elephant at the L.A. Zoo around 1920.