Shock rippled through Los Angeles this week as residents awoke to discover that officials had removed the city zoo’s last two elephants, Billy and Tina, without advance notice and transported them across state lines.
According to the Daily Mail, the Los Angeles Zoo, led by Zoo Director Denise Verret and with approval from Mayor Karen Bass, relocated the elephants to the Tulsa Zoo in a secretive overnight operation, despite widespread opposition from the public, animal experts, and celebrities who had urged their retirement to an animal sanctuary.
The zoo carried out the unexpected transfer early Monday morning, and eyewitnesses reported seeing the elephants restrained by ankle shackles shortly before they disappeared from their enclosure. By Tuesday, the empty elephant exhibit fueled speculation that the zoo had moved the animals without public disclosure.
Mayor Bass approved the \$44,000 relocation, and Verret led its organization. Critics have condemned the decision for disregarding months of advocacy urging officials to send the elephants to sanctuaries better suited for aging Asian elephants.
Billy, a 40-year-old male who has lived at the LA Zoo for 36 years, was captured from the wild in Malaysia at age 4. Tina, a 59-year-old female, was taken from the wild as a calf, endured years in a circus, and moved between facilities before arriving at the LA Zoo in 2010.
Celebrities such as Cher, Kim Basinger, and Nicola Peltz Beckham had implored Mayor Bass to reconsider the transfer, uniting in a formal plea advocating for placement in facilities like the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary or the Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary.
The Tulsa Zoo, which launched an expanded elephant habitat this April, is now home to Billy and Tina. However, elephant welfare specialist Dr. Chris Draper visited the facility on May 10 and condemned the conditions as inadequate and harmful to the animals’ health.
Draper cited cramped quarters, lack of shade, and terrain unsuitable for elephants. He also observed health issues in the existing herd at Tulsa — five elephants already residing there were underweight, lacked muscle tone, and one suffered from a cracked nail.
Animal advocacy organizations have responded harshly, accusing the LA Zoo of making the move based on administrative interests rather than animal welfare. The group In Defense of Animals said the middle-of-the-night transfer suggested the public was deliberately kept in the dark.
David Casselman, co-founder of the Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary, said he offered to care for and transport Billy and Tina at no cost. However, Zoo Director Verret claimed she was unaware of the proposal during a recent city council hearing.
Casselman lamented the outcome, arguing that the elephants had endured long-term suffering only for officials to relocate them to what he described as an even worse environment. He called the decision “a missed opportunity” for both the mayor and the city to demonstrate leadership in ethical animal care.
Public scrutiny has intensified in light of past controversies surrounding the zoo. Critics have reported that the LA Zoo allowed seventeen elephants to die in its care over the years, and a superior court judge once ruled that its \$42 million Elephant of Asia Exhibit failed to improve elephant welfare.
Verret, who currently chairs the board of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, faces accusations of potential conflicts of interest. Critics speculate that her allegiance to AZA-approved facilities may have influenced the transfer decision.
In a separate issue unveiled earlier this month, the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association named Verret in a sworn declaration, accusing her of misusing over \$365,000 for travel, personal parties, and office expenses. These allegations have intensified calls for her removal.
Activists, including Shira Astrof from The Animal Rescue Mission and Judie Mancuso of Social Compassion in Legislation, voiced frustration over the outcome, arguing that officials misled the public and placed the elephants’ future in a substandard facility.
In response to the outcry, an LA Zoo spokesperson stated that the zoo designed the move with Billy and Tina’s well-being in mind and emphasized the benefit of keeping the bonded pair together in a new habitat. The transfer is reportedly part of a Species Survival Plan — a coordinated zoo effort for endangered species.
The zoo claimed that celebrity advocates could have raised the necessary funds for sanctuary placement but maintained there were "no offers" from those parties, a claim at odds with Casselman’s testimony and documented proposal.
On social media, the backlash has been sharp. Commenters have accused Mayor Bass of betraying voters and exploiting her position, with some pushing for her resignation and calling November 3, 2026 — the next election day — "a moment of reckoning."
