Date
August 1, 2006
Contact
Catherine Doyle
323-301-5730
Kristie Phelps
757-423-0093
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.
L.A. Zoo Covered-Up Failing Health of Now-Dead Elephant, Newly-Released Documents Reveal
Zoo medical records reveal elephant was seriously ailing for months before her death
Los Angeles, Calif.—In Defense of Animals (IDA) today charged the Los Angeles Zoo with covering up the failing health of Gita, the 48-year-old elephant who died on June 10th. She was the second L.A. Zoo elephant to die after collapsing following years of failing health due to zoo-induced foot and joint disease.
Newly acquired zoo medical records reveal that, at a time when the L.A. Zoo was claiming that Gita was “fine,” the elephant’s health was actually declining dramatically. The records show that Gita suffered from:
- A severe abscess measuring 17” x 22.5”. The wound was so large a veterinarian was able to “insert arm up into the upper part of the abscess to try and break down adhesions.” (April/June 2006)
- Additional abscesses on her right hindquarters likely due to leaning on the bars of her enclosure in an attempt to take weight off her deteriorated, infected feet and aching arthritic joints. One abscess was noted to be “more sensitive when the needle is placed in it.” (May/June 2006)
- “Undermining” of the sole of her right foot requiring a protective boot. (June 2006)
- Significant swelling “around the vulva to almost halfway down the hind legs and up along the underside of the chest with swelling of the cranial teats.” (June 5, 2006) By June 9, the day before her death, the swelling had increased, a condition zoo vets believed was “likely due to her resting her rear and getting weight shift done against the facility bars/railings.”
In the week before her death, the normally docile and compliant elephant Gita became agitated and began refusing all foot treatments, which included cutting away dead tissue from her feet.
“This is an elephant who was suffering enormously,” states former zoo veterinarian Mel Richardson, DVM. “She had gaping, infected pressure sores on her rump. In the end she could not bear her own weight, and instead she leaned on the bars of her exhibit in an attempt to alleviate the pressure on her crippled infected front feet.”
Richardson continues, “It is inconceivable that the zoo could claim it had no idea that poor Gita was in danger of collapse. The zoo’s public explanation of these events simply doesn’t correlate with their own veterinary medical records.”
Gita was not elderly for an Asian elephant, which in the wild are known to reproduce into their 50s and have a natural lifespan of 70 years.
IDA has filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, alleging violations of the Animal Welfare Act in the treatment of Gita and other elephants at the zoo. Concerned citizens and animal advocates are calling for the surviving elephants, Ruby and Billy, to be removed from Los Angeles Zoo and sent to a sanctuary with the space and natural conditions necessary for elephants to thrive.
For more information see www.helpelephants.com.