L.A. MAYOR BASS & ZOO DIRECTOR DENISE VERRET: WHERE ARE OUR ELEPHANTS?

Dear Marion,

There is no sign of Billy and Tina at the L.A. Zoo. We went to the Zoo this morning to check on the two elephants. We stayed for three hours, but there was no sign of either elephant. This is very unusual.

We do NOT have confirmation that the elephants are gone.

We do know that L.A. Mayor Bass and Zoo Director Verret are not answering our phone calls regarding the whereabouts of Tina and Billy.

Today, LCA filed FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests with Mayor Karen Bass’s office and the L.A. Department of Parks and Recreation to gain insight into the transfer and relocation of Billy and Tina to the Tulsa Zoo. LCA should receive a preliminary response in 10 days.

We have also placed 10 billboards throughout Los Angeles urging Mayor Bass to do the right thing and send Billy and Tina to a sanctuary instead of the Tulsa Zoo.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Call Mayor Bass today and ask her, “Where are Billy and Tina?”

Mayor Karen Bass phone #: 213-978-0600

Even if you have called before, please call again, it is important that they constantly here about this issue. You can leave a message after hours.

Sample call script:

"My name is ______ and I'm calling on behalf of Billy and Tina, the two elephants at the L.A. Zoo. Billy and Tina have not been seen at the L.A. Zoo today. Where are our elephants? If they are on the way to the Tulsa Zoo, please use the power of your office and turn the trucks around!

I urge you to demand transparency and accountability from the L.A. Zoo Director, Denise Verret. Please use the power of your office to do the right thing and support sanctuaries for captive elephants, not zoos. Voters like me will remember whether you had the courage to stand up for Billy and Tina or whether you caved to the L.A. Zoo. You don't want to be on the wrong side of history."

BACKGROUND:

On 4/22/2025, the L.A. Zoo announced IMMINENT plans to send the last two remaining L.A. Zoo elephants, Billy and Tina, to the Tulsa Zoo. The L.A. Zoo has not provided a specific timeline for the transfer. Billy and Tina, after spending decades suffering in captivity, deserve to go to a sanctuary, not another zoo. It has been scientifically proven, again and again, that elephants do not thrive in captivity.

On 4/23/2025, L.A. City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield introduced a Motion to stop the transfer of the elephants until the matter is voted on by full council, and for the L.A. Zoo to report back within 30 days on sanctuary options. As of this moment, the L.A. City Council has not approved Blumenfield's motion.

On 5/11/2025, at the L.A. Zoo, a lawsuit was announced to stop the Zoo’s attempted transfer of Billy and Tina, the two aging and beloved elephants, to the Tulsa Zoo. The legal action challenges the Zoo’s last-minute maneuver to move the elephants without public notice, transparency, or waiting for a pending City Council motion that would allow Billy and Tina to retire to a legitimate elephant sanctuary.

As of 5/14/2025, the L.A. Mayor sides with the L.A. Zoo Director in transferring the elephants. The L.A. Zoo Director is the newly appointed Chair of the Board of Directors of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The AZA is an independent accrediting organization. AZA accredited zoos share and transfer animals between other AZA accredited zoos.

On 5/15/2025, the lawsuit to stop Billy and Tina’s transfer to the Tulsa Zoo was lost in court.

As of 5/20/2025, our investigator went into the L.A. Zoo today for 3 hours looking for Billy and Tina and did not find them. It is unusual not to see one of them, if not both. Where are the elephants?

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Elephants being shuffled between AZA accredited zoos is like rearranging the deckchairs on the titanic.

Both Billy and Tina were ripped from the wild in Asia at a young age and brought to the U.S. Tina was trafficked into the circus in 1967 at one-year-old, and endured years of circus abuse before arriving at the L.A. Zoo in 2010. Billy was four-years-old when he arrived at the L.A. Zoo in 1989. Both suffer from chronic health conditions, including zoochosis.

The madness of keeping elephants in captivity must stop!

For the animals,

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