Sale of Zoo Animals to Ranches Banned

The City Council on Tuesday banned the sale of surplus exotic animals by the Los Angeles Zoo to “hunting ranches” and established a tighter tracking system to ensure that the prohibition is not violated by animal brokers.

The legislation, approved unanimously, is believed to be the first such ban in the nation. Mayor Tom Bradley said the law, actually a package of ordinances, is designed to ensure the “humane treatment” of surplus animals sold by the zoo.

Councilman Joel Wachs, who sponsored the proposal, said it was spurred by a January report on CBS’s “60 Minutes” which claimed that two animal traders--both of whom have been used by the zoo--sold animals from other zoos at auction to the so-called hunting ranches.

Zoo Director Warren Thomas said he had determined that none of the zoo’s animals had ended up at the ranches, but he supported the ban and the tightened tracking program.