Date
June 10, 2006
Contact
Catherine Doyle
(323) 301-5730
In Defense of Animals
3010 Kerner Blvd
San Rafael
CA 94901
IDA is an international, California-based animal advocacy organization dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by defending their rights, welfare and habitats.
Elephant Death Spurs Protest at L.A. Zoo
Advocates Lay Blame on Zoo Conditions, Lack of City Action
Los Angeles—Members of In Defense of Animals (IDA) and Los Angeles Alliance for Elephants will hold a demonstration Sunday at Los Angeles Zoo over the death of 47-year-old Asian elephant, Gita, who has long suffered from chronic foot disease and arthritis that were a direct result of keeping her in inadequate conditions at the Zoo. L.A. Zoo is being urged to send the remaining elephants, Billy and Ruby, to an elephant sanctuary and to cease keeping elephants.
When: Sunday, June 11, 2006, 12:00 noon
Where: L.A. Zoo, in front of main entrance
In an incident hauntingly reminiscent of the death of 39-year-old Tara in December 2004, Gita was found collapsed this morning in her enclosure and died a short time later.
“We hold L.A. Zoo, the mayor, and the city accountable for Gita’s death. They all failed her,” says Catherine Doyle, representative of IDA and head of the local group Los Angeles Alliance for Elephants. “It was criminal not to have moved Gita to a sanctuary a couple of years ago, before her condition worsened due to standing on concrete in her enclosure, one of the conditions known to be the cause of lethal foot and joint problems in elephants. It’s time for the city to admit it just can’t properly care for elephants.”
Zoo medical records indicate that Gita began to suffer from foot infections while still in her teens and developed arthritis in her 20s. Last September, Gita underwent surgery for her steadily deteriorating foot condition, so severe bone in one of her toes had “disappeared” - literally rotted away due to advanced infection.
Advocates have long warned that Gita’s health would continue to deteriorate if she remained in zoo conditions that are known to cause irreparable damage to elephants’ feet and joints, including restricted enclosure space and concrete flooring, yet the Zoo refused to place Gita in more a more suitable, natural habitat environment.
“I believe Gita’s condition is poor to guarded. I will be astonished if she lives another six months,” said 23-year zoo and wildlife veterinarian, Dr. Mel Richardson in October 2005, after reviewing Gita’s medical records from May 20, 2005 through August 9, 2005 and observing her at LA. Zoo. “Gita is in this condition directly because of the over forty years of inactivity and over forty years of standing on concrete and/or hard packed substrate.”
Asian elephants in the wild are known to reproduce into their 50s and have a natural lifespan of 70 years. Of the 12 known elephant deaths at L.A. Zoo, more than half the elephants did not live to see age 20. Field scientists report that ailments plaguing elephants in zoos, such as foot infections, are unheard of in wild elephant populations, where elephants’ ability to travel over thirty miles a day helps to maintain healthy feet and joints. Arthritis and foot problems are the two leading causes of euthanasia in captive elephants in the United States.
Please visit www.HelpElephants.com for more information. Copies of Gita’s medical records are available.