Councilman Bob Blumenfield, on Thursday, delayed relocating the remaining two Asian elephants to a 17-acre reserve in Tulsa, Oklahoma, until he explored additional options.
The motion introduced Wednesday would direct zoo officials to report relocation options for Billy, 40, and Tina, 59, within 30 days.
Zoo officials are instructed not to move the elephant or to not commit to the place they will be relocated until the issue is discussed and voted by the full council.
The issue will be answered at future meetings of the Council’s Arts, Parks, Library and Community Enhancement Committee before it is scheduled for the City Council.
“Because the zoo is a citywide property, the Los Angeles City Council is interested in relocating elephants. Therefore, all options should be considered by the council before a final decision on where Billy and Tina will move,” the motion reads.
Councillors said the zoo should consider the 3,060-acre elephant sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, home to 12 elephants, or the Northern California Performance Animal Welfare Association, a 2,300-acre heaven for retired prisoner wildlife.
“Elephants need a large, dynamic environment, relationships, freedom of choice and control their lives,” the movement reads. “If these important needs are not met, they cause great physical and psychological harm.”
On Tuesday, zoo officials announced their decision to move the pair into an elephant experience and protect them in Tulsa. They said the decision was made that animal care and happiness was a top priority, and the relocation would “give an opportunity to live among other elephants.”
“This decision is driven by an unwavering commitment to the health and well-being of all the animals Rassou cares for,” according to a statement Tuesday by the zoo. “After the movement, the zoo will pause the elephant program for the immediate future. The zoo will continue to support Asian elephant conservation programs, and the Asian elephant display will be reimagined for other appropriate species and programming.”
Zoo officials have said they have been evaluating the elephant display since the deaths of two other elephants — a 61-year-old gem in 2023 and a 53-year-old Shaunzi in 2024 — said they are “reducing their health due to issues that have nothing to do with zoo enclosures or care.”
There are currently five Asian elephants at Tulsa Zoo. The reserve covers 17 acres, including a 36,650-square-foot elephant barn and more than 10 acres of wooded elephant sanctuary.
According to the zoo, the move will “have the opportunity to integrate with the larger herd and continue to receive exceptional care.”
There is no date for the move.
Zoo officials also noted that the decision was not affected by the city’s fiscal deficit and reached it in consultation with the Zoo and Aquarium Association and its elephant species survival plans and taxa advisory groups.
Courtney Scott, an elephant consultant for animal defense, said in an email to City News Service that she was disappointed with the decision to move the elephant to another zoo in place of the sanctuary, as she has petitioned Razoo for the past 20 years.
Scott said the Tulsa Zoo exhibit is far from enough space to accommodate the needs of elephants in the distance.
“These two elephants have been present in barren zoo displays that have been contracted for decades and endure physical and mental suffering. It is truly tragic that they have not had the opportunity to live the rest of their lives as the wild free elephants they were born with,” Scott said.
In March, philanthropist and retired trial lawyer David Kasselman offered to fully fund elephant relocation and lifelong care in Cambodia’s wildlife sanctuary.
In his remarks, Kasselman said the city doesn’t have to pay anything and it doesn’t get in the way.
“We can crawl Billy, take Tina, and move them to Cambodia. They’ll have all the spaces of the loveliest beings for the elephants you can imagine,” Kasselman said.
Kasselman cited the successful relocation and recovery of Kaavan, the “world’s lonely elephant”, which was moved from the Islamabad Zoo to Cambodia.
According to Scott, the zoo did not consult with Casselman. There were also sanctuaries in the United States that zoo officials may have considered as well, she added.
Animal advocates have long called on the zoo to release the zoo. The elephant says he is suffering from “severe pain” and medical conditions due to the limited scope of the zoo.
Zoo spokesman Max Pulsinelli said in an email to CNS that neither animal defense nor Casselman contacted or presented an offer.
“Even if we have, the cost of movement and activist agenda are not considered. It’s just the happiness of individual animals. Animal care decisions are made by animal care professionals and zoo experts within the context of AZA accreditation standards,” says Pulsinelli.
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