KEY POINTS:
An elephant called Billy, with friends in high places in Hollywood, was at the centre of a bitter custody battle yesterday as Los Angeles council prepared to halt work on his new state-of-the art enclosure at the city's zoo.
After a long campaign by animal rights activists and film stars, including Goldie Hawn and Halle Berry, council members looked set to suspend construction of a US$42 million ($79 million) luxury "Pachyderm Forest" which he was supposed to move into next year.
Instead, they ruled that 23-year-old Billy must be transferred to a 25ha
"sanctuary" in upstate California, where he can stretch his legs and interact with other elephants without being plagued by the foot problems and psychological trauma that blighted many predecessors at LA Zoo.
But the sanctuary does not exist, and no one seems to know where it may
eventually be sited, who will own the facility, or how long it will take to construct.
In the meantime, Billy, an Asian bull elephant, will be forced to make do with somewhat substandard temporary accommodation.
The City of Los Angeles has been left with a US$12 million bill for a half-built (and now useless) 2.5ha elephant enclosure.
The bizarre state of affairs, which comes at a time when the city is facing a US$110 million deficit, is the latest development in a decades-old controversy surrounding the keeping of African and Asian
elephants in the heart of smog-drenched California.
A dozen of the animals have died since LA Zoo began keeping them in 1968, many under 20. They can live to age 70 in the wild. Activists claim that their existing 0.5ha pen harms their physical and mental
health and shortens their lives. Critics say Billy is exhibiting signs of stress.
The zoo insists its elephant accommodation has been vastly improved in
recent years.
The controversy had been brewing for several years. LA Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa halted construction in 2005, so a study could be carried out into its future. The council approved the "Pachyderm Forest" in 2006. The apparent change of heart follows a decision by activists to use celebrity supporters to lobby council members to vote for the
elephant enclosure to be scrapped.
Councillor Herb Wesson told colleagues that he needed time to consider
where his loyalties lay before casting his vote, after receiving an early-morning phone call from the actress Halle Berry. "I have some
further questions and I am not prepared to vote today. Halle Berry calling me had nothing to do with it," he said.
To many residents the expensive controversy leaves a bad taste in the
mouth.
Some have nicknamed the now-defunct "Pachyderm Forest" the "elephant enclosure to nowhere". Others have joked that it represents a literal white elephant.
- INDEPENDENT
