By JOSE HERRERA
Los Angeles City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield introduced a motion on Friday, Sept. 26, seeking transparency on the late-night transfer of the zoo’s last two remaining Asian elephants, Billy and Tiny, who were quietly relocated to Tulsa Zoo earlier this year.
At Friday’s City Council meeting, Blumenfield said his motion would require the zoo to publicly report on the circumstances of the move, which he criticized as rushed and lacking consultation with the City Council.
He also introduced Canadian filmmaker Fern Levitt, whose new documentary highlights the treatment of elephants in captivity.
“This is a timely moment for Fern to be here and spotlighting the work of many individuals to publicize the plight of these formerly held at the L.A. Zoo, Billy and Tiny, who had recently, in the dead of night, been transferred to facilities without discussion, without putting their needs before ours, and without justice.”
Blumenfield noted the transfer came after the euthanization of Asian elephants Shaunzi and Jewel, which occurred in the last two years. City officials previously stated these two geriatric elephants suffered from various illnesses, leading to declining health.
“These elephants live in conditions at the bare minimum of care set by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the ACA standards,” Blumenfield said. “They need socialization, enrichment, and specific living accommodations … that neither the L.A. Zoo nor Tulsa, can provide.”
Levitt discussed her documentary “Lucy: The Stolen Lives of Elephants,” which she bills as the first documentary to reveal the cruelty elephants experience in zoos and the misinformation zoos tell the public in order to justify their captivity.
“Over the course of my career, I have directed more than 20 documentaries on subjects ranging from the civil rights movement to the Holocaust, from struggles of people living under dictatorships to the cruelty of the commercial sled dog industry, including the Iditarod,” Levitt said.
“Nothing prepared me for my heartbreak over my recent film, ‘The Stolen Lives of Elephants,’ Levitt added. “I knew that keeping elephants in zoos was wrong, but I did not expect was to uncover the depth of cruelty of captivity or the extent of the lies that zoos tell the public in order to justify keeping these brilliant animals in these confined spaces.”
The documentary also examines the transfer of Asian elephants Billy and Tina from the Los Angeles Zoo, despite calls from some residents, celebrities and animal advocates to send them to a sanctuary. Blumenfield also backed such a request.
“This film is more than exposé — it’s a call for change,” Levitt said in a statement. “Elephants are intelligent, social beings, yet too many spend their lives behind bars. We owe them a future in the wild where they belong for their sake and the sake of our fragile planet.”
According to Levitt, the documentary also explores the Nonhuman Rights Project’s legal fight to recognize elephants as legal persons; the capture of wild elephants from Swaziland for U.S. zoos; and innovative solutions such as Buenos Aires’ decision to transform its zoo into a so-called “Eco Park,” as well as the yet-to-be approved Jane Goodall Act which would ban elephant captivity in Canada.
The documentary will be screened at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Sepulveda Screening Room in Westwood.
In May, the Los Angeles Zoo relocated Billy and Tina to their new home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Tulsa Zoo’s Elephant Experience and Preserve was already home to five Asian elephants, and its preserve covers 17 acres, including a 36,650-square-foot elephant barn and a 10-plus-acre wooded elephant preserve.
Los Angeles Zoo officials insisted the move was the best choice for the pair of elephants.
“The decision to move the elephants to the Tulsa Zoo was made with the health and well-being of the individual elephants as the top priority and at the recommendation of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and its Elephant Species Survival Plan which advises on the management of the entire population of elephants in AZA-accredited institutions as a single herd,” according to a statement from the L.A. Zoo issued May 21.
“The Tulsa Zoo was the top recommendation of the SSP based on space, herd dynamics and expertise of the staff. This option also ensured that Billy and Tina would be able to remain together,” the statement said.
The transfer prompted protests and a lawsuit in which a judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order to block the relocation of the elephants to Tulsa.
Tulsa Zoo officials stated in the summer the two elephants were doing well and bonding with the other elephants.
Critics contended that the size of the enclosure was far too small to accommodate two more elephants, and urged for the elephants to be relocated to an elephant preserve.