Date
August 24, 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.
LA ZOO NEGLIGENCE AND ELEPHANT SUFFERING REVEALED IN GITA NECROPSY, GROUP CHARGES
Los Angeles, Calif.— The animal advocacy group In Defense of Animals (IDA) today charged that a necropsy report released yesterday on Gita, a 48-year old elephant who died at the Los Angeles Zoo in June, upholds allegations of zoo negligence and extreme animal suffering that are currently the target of a federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“This necropsy report documents that the Los Angeles Zoo failed to provide timely medical care to Gita before she died,” said Elliot M. Katz, DVM, IDA president. “The report also documents the extent of Gita’s arthritis and foot disease, conditions that would have been preventable had the zoo moved her years ago from cramped quarters and concrete floors to an environment appropriate for elephants.”
“Elephants are big animals who need big spaces and the LA Zoo has not given them what they need,” Katz continued. “Gita suffered needlessly and it’s just not right.
One of the necropsy’s most shocking findings is that Gita had blood clots throughout her body for as long as three days before her death, a condition that would have been excruciatingly painful, according to IDA’s veterinary experts.
In addition, the necropsy documents that Gita was severely debilitated with:
- “Extensive, chronic-active severe to very severe Degenerative Joint Disease”
- “Severe, chronic-active ulcerative fibrinous arthritis”
- “Sole ulcers: chronic-active”
- Large “slit-like openings” on her back (8 in. long) and right hip (4 in. x 8 in.)
- “Large, loose pieces of inflamed tissue” around tail abscess caused by “traumatic dislodgement” due to Gita’s “rubbing area against bars of cage.”
“It is beyond shocking that the LA Zoo left this ailing elephant who had gaping wounds on her hindquarters and could not comfortably stand on her own feet unattended and unmonitored,” Katz continued.
“We are calling on Mayor Villaraigosa to hold the LA Zoo accountable for its profound negligence and to release the two surviving elephants, Ruby and Billy, to a sanctuary,’ he concluded. “The Mayor must ensure that no elephant in the City of Los Angeles ever suffers again as Gita did.”