Elephants Will Stay At L.A. Zoo
After our previous article Concern over Elephants At The Los Angeles Zoo sparked so much debate Causecast decided to continue the coverage of this hot topic.
From The Los Angeles Times
Elephants will remain at the Los Angeles Zoo, the City Council decided today, voting 11 to 4 to complete construction of the six-acre, $42-million Pachyderm Forest that opponents said is too small and too expensive.
Zoo supporters screamed with delight after the vote, which marked a turnaround for the council; last year, it had signaled it was ready to kill the project. The decision came after several months of impassioned hearings, rallies and news conferences on both sides of the issue.
There were even dueling offers of money: The zoo’s fundraising arm offered $14.5 million (above the $5 million it had committed initially) to defray some of the city’s financial responsibility. On the other side, retired game show host Bob Barker offered $1.5 million to pay the cost of moving the zoo’s lone elephant to a sanctuary.
In the packed council chambers, the crowd was emotional and tense, cheering the speakers they approved and booing those they didn’t. Opponents of the exhibit marshaled celebrities, including Cher, Lily Tomlin and Robert Culp, who called himself not an animal activist but a taxpayer who assailed the money going “to this shameless political boondoggle.” Opponents believe the zoo’s exhibit cannot fulfill the complex space and social needs of the world’s largest land mammal.
Zoo supporters believe the exhibit is world-class. “No disrespect, but if you want to know about a concert, talk to Cher,” zookeeper Joshua Sisk told council members. “If you want to know about the zoo, let’s talk to professionals at the zoo.”
From Access Hollywood
A host of celebrities including Cher and Bob Barker were unsuccessful in their bid to encourage the Los Angeles City Council to stop the completion of the LA Zoo’s $42 million Pachyderm Forest on Tuesday.
Cher, Bob and Lily Tomlin were among the celebs who turned up to a LA City Council meeting in downtown LA, urging council members to abort plans to complete an elephant habitat at the zoo, and to see the zoo’s lone elephant, Billy, transferred to an animal sanctuary.
“From I understand about GLAZA [the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association] is it’s always been done this way, there have always been elephants in the city zoos throughout history… and that’s what makes it right. It doesn’t make it right,” Cher said.
“We’ve had other things that we’re ashamed of. We’ve had slavery, you know, it wasn’t right.”
Many in the auditorium were wearing “Free Billy” shirts – but even more were clad in green shirts supporting the zoo. And not every celeb was on the side of Bob and Cher — Betty White and Slash even made a PSA pushing for the completion of the pachyderm project.
The LA Zoo won the day — and zookeeper Joshua Sisk told Access that celebs needn’t worry about the animals in their care.
Please discuss below. We will continue to report on this story as news breaks.
For related news, visit our Animals Channel for Change.
Photo: Diane S Murphy/Flickr
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Badgerdaveo - that's a loaded question. The presumption in your question is that kids learn from seeing animals in zoos and "grow to care about their overall survival." There is not a shred of actual evidence that supports your premise. In fact, anecdotal evidence suggests the opposite: most visitors spend less than three minutes at each exhibit and rarely read even the minimal information posted about the animal. And the three minutes of viewing time show animals in artificial environments, so what is learned even then? Kids learn to care about things in a multitude of ways, not just be seeing something two yards away - dinosaurs are just one example of many.
I think this brings up a really core question...how do we allow humans (kids in particular) to have access to animals so that we can learn from them (and grow to care about their overall survival) while allowing the animals to live in humane environments. Clearly it wouldn't be safe or practical to take schools full of children to the elephant's natural habitat, so do we just say that it's impossible to see these animals? Is keeping an elephant in a zoo -inherently- inhumane, or is it necessary for the greater good of both species...humans and elephants?
And Joshua Sisk - yes, your job is safe - for now.
Why is it okay for the zoo to enlist "Slash" and Betty White to speak up on their behalf while celebrities who disagree should be prevented from expressing their opinion? And I agree - print more of the facts - not more zoo rhetoric. I shouldn't have to even point this out, but since elephants are a major draw at any zoo, isn't it clear that the "zoo professionals" have a major vested interest in keeping them there?
Lombard: I posted this article so I'd like to respond. I posted two articles here, one from the LA Times stating what happened and one from Access Hollywood talking about the celebrities involved. The first article doesn't say anything negative about the Zoo, it even has a quote from the zoo keeper. The 2nd article is just stating the celebrities involved. The story is from a celebrities news show so of course it mentions the names of the celebrities involved. I don't see this post as taking sides to argument.
I hope that this victory for the Zoo puts an end to psudo-celebrities claiming that their experts merely because the read a piece of paper.
Animal Keeper, Josh, said it best, "No disrespect -- I love you, Cher -- but if you want to know about a concert, talk to Cher. If you want to know how to spin a wheel, talk to Bob Barker. Let's talk to professionals at the zoo who care for animals, if you want to know about the zoo. Billy has never seen electric shock. He's basically been in a sanctuary in the middle of the city."
I can't believe you! Once again, I am so disappointed. SIX times you mention Cher's name, like she has a brain in her head. She stood and read poorly something that was written for her. Over and over you quote comments from the animal activists. Do you not do any investigative reporting before posting such comments? Try quoting some FACTS, quoting the experts like Josh more often, quoting the corrections to the fictitious numbers IDA and Cardenas used. The zoo keepers have bachelor's degrees and most have advanced degrees in their specialties, as well as having spent time doing research on the species they care for in the wild. THIS IS A VICTORY FOR THE PEOPLE OF LA WHO OVERWHELMINGLY SUPPORT THE ZOO AND THE PACHYDERM FOREST AS WELL AS A VICTORY FOR TRUTH OVER PROPAGANDA. Print more of the FACTS!