A judge rejected a temporary ban on Thursday to prevent the Los Angeles Zoo from transferring two beloved elephants to an Oklahoma zoo.
A resident of the Zoo continued last Friday for his decision to move the Tina and Billy elephants to the Tula zoo, arguing that they should rather be sent to an animal sanctuary. His lawyers then filed an emergency request on Tuesday for a temporary ban order.
Melissa Lerner, the lawyer representing the applicant, told journalists on Thursday outside the courtroom that the judge had rejected the request “largely on the basis that it is a question which should be addressed by the municipal council and the mayor Karen Bass”, adding that the judge “encouraged the public to contact the members of the council and to the mayor and to say that it is unconscious and not.
Animal rights defenders have critical The Los Angeles Zoo for decades to hold elephants in a relatively small enclosure, which they think causes serious health problems. Two elephants have been euthanized in recent years due to health problems which, according to the zoo, have been linked to age, leaving only Billy and Tina, who live in distinct enclosures in an elephant habitat of around 6.5 acres.
The zoo has announced that it would transfer the pachyderms to a spacious elephant complex at the Tulsa zoo at the end of April, arousing new criticism.
Outside the courtroom, Lerner continued to call the mayor to act.
“Mayor Karen Bass can solve this problem with a telephone call – it’s not difficult,” said Lerner. “We want her to raise the opportunity and do the right thing here. It has the power to intervene and prevent their transfer before it is too late. ”
A representative of the mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
The emergency depot has cited the urgency of the case, noting that the transfer could occur at any time and that the transport of elephants can present serious health risks. He urged the judge to “maintain the status quo” by keeping Billy and Tina in Los Angeles until the court has more time to examine the case.
A large part of the content of the initial trial, including a singer dear declaration, discussed how the decision -making process transferred animals was taken without contribution from the public or the municipal council.
In his first declaration since the submission of the trial, the Los Angeles Zoo said Thursday morning that the “difficult decision” to move Billy and Tina had been made in accordance with the recommendations and consultations with the ASSN. Zoos and aquariums and its survival plan for elephant species.
“Animal care and well -being is always an absolute priority and decisions with an impact on animals are taken at the discretion of the Director of the Zoo – an authority granted in the Charter of the City of Los Angeles. Activist agendas and demonstrations are not rightly consideration in decisions that have an impact on animal care,” said the press release.
The Director and Director General of the Zoo, Denise Verret, is appointed defendant of the trial.
The member of the municipal council of the Bob Blumenfield, longtime defender of the elephants, filed a request last month seeking to suspend their resettlement until the municipal council could examine the possibility of sending them to a sanctuary.
During a low -budget audience last week, Blumenfield asked Verret a series of questions about elephants. During a hearing on May 8 where the member of the Council and director of the zoo was head-to-head on the issue, Verret said on this date that the Zoos de la and Tulsa had not yet signed a contract and that no date had been fixed for the transfer.
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