Petition: Free Billy and Tina the Elephants From LA Zoo Now

Billy the Asian elephant was only 4 years old when he was sold and shipped from Malaysia to Los Angeles. At that point, 36 years ago, he became a captive resident at the city’s zoo – and he’s been there ever since. Now, he lives with companion Tina, a 59 year old elephant.

But their time in zoos seems to be nowhere near over. After the LA Zoo euthanized their two other aging herd members, it is planning to send them to a zoo in Tulsa, Oklahoma to join a herd of five other new, different elephants. Why? They should be sent to a sanctuary instead!

Sign the petition to demand that the City of Los Angeles, which owns the LA Zoo, move Tina and Billy to a reputable sanctuary to live out their days in peace and comfort!

Zoos are extremely stressful environments for elephants. Trapped in spaces significantly smaller than the 2.7 million acres they need to roam in the wild, they become distressed, disturbed, and physically unhealthy. Living in captivity cuts their lifespan, on average, by around 30-45%, and leaves them vulnerable to food abscesses and infections, arthritis, tuberculosis, and other serious chronic health conditions.

These elephants did not consent to be confined or to be used as entertainment for humans who gawk at them in zoos. They are intelligent, social creatures who recognize each other’s calls, assign individual specific names to members of their herds, mourn their dead, and show incredible empathy, sensitivity, and self-awareness when raising their young.

For all these reasons and more, Tina and Billy do not belong at the LA Zoo – or at any zoo at all. As the pop singer and icon Cher has said: “Billy and Tina have served their time in confinement… They deserve the chance to live out their lives in peace and dignity.”

That’s why Cher and many other advocates for elephants’ welfare are urging the City of Los Angeles to stop this stressful, traumatic transfer of Billy and Tina to yet another zoo, in yet another state. We must stand with them and amplify their call!

Help us urge the City of Los Angeles to release Billy and Tina from this ongoing cycle of captivity by sending them to live in a reputable sanctuary instead! Sign the petition!

This article by Nicholas Vincent was first published by One Green Planet on 23 July 2025. Lead Image Credit :Sander Steven Lang/Shutterstock.

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