Billy the Elephant Loses
Bob Barker and a bunch of other celebrities put up a fight. But they lost. The City Council voted that Billy the Elephant should stay at the L.A. Zoo and live in what will be a new 42 million dollar enclosure.
The decision came after an emotional hearing attended by several hundred people. Barker, actress-singer Cher and actress Lily Tomlin were among them after Barker pledged $1.5 million earlier this week to move Billy to a sanctuary in Northern California.
I’m a big believer that no elephant should live in a zoo. Elephants in their natural lives walk about 20 miles daily. An enclosure cannot provide that kind of movement. Personally, I’m not a big fan of zoos anyway. People cite the Bronx Zoo and some other larger well funded places as success stories and tout their conservation efforts. But the truth is, most zoos are not the Bronx Zoo. And even the Bronx Zoo can’t give the animals the kind of quality of life they would have in the wild. It’s just impossible. And for elephants, due to their size, it’s ten times impossible.
To read Billy the Elephant’s full story, click here. I certainly hope he does okay. The L.A. Zoo doesn’t have a good track record with elephants. But my fingers are crossed for him.
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