LOS ANGELES : Council Declines to Block Move of Gorilla From Zoo
The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday declined a request by animal rights activists to block the transfer of a gorilla from the Los Angeles Zoo to the St. Louis Zoo.
The council fell two votes short of the 10 needed to postpone the move of Kay, a 28-year-old western lowland gorilla scheduled to be flown to St. Louis on Thursday.
The failure is the second in as many weeks for animal rights activists, who last week were denied an injunction in federal court that would have prevented Kay and another gorilla, Lina, from being shipped out. Lina was taken last week to the Rio Grande Zoo in Albuquerque, N.M.
Activists said the moves are dangerous and unnecessary, but zoo officials say the two female gorillas may be encouraged to reproduce if they are taken to new locations. Western lowland gorillas are an endangered species.
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