Letters to the Editor: After L.A. elephants are whisked away in the night, ‘animals need more reliable friends’

To the editor: It is disheartening to learn that Billy and Tina are now at the Tulsa Zoo, stuck in quarantine, rather than at one of the many sanctuaries eager to rehome them (“Elephants Billy and Tina whisked out of L.A. Zoo by night amid protests, arrive in Tulsa,” May 21). My frustration upon learning that Mayor Karen Bass chose not to intervene compounds my frustration with animal advocates who engage in partisan politics and expect Democrats to help animals. Animals need more reliable friends.

I lived in Pacific Palisades from the time the Rick Caruso development opened there and saw Caruso regularly, always with his beloved dog by his side. I have appreciated his support of the Santa Barbara Humane Society. And I can’t help but wonder whether he would have spoken out for the two elephants who’ve already spent decades in zoos and deserve a true retirement on hundreds of acres. Animal advocates should learn his stance on that, and his willingness to get involved in animal welfare issues, before the next election cycle.

Karen Dawn, Santa Barbara
This writer is the director of animal advocacy nonprofit DawnWatch.

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To the editor: Reading about the L.A. Zoo’s secretive midnight moving of its beloved elephants Billy and Tina — largely to dodge public protest and reporters — I am reminded of the time another L.A. institution did essentially the same thing.

A Los Angeles Times Magazine article titled “The Death of Marineland,” dated Aug. 9, 1987, recounts the night earlier that year when the new owner of Marineland sold its star attraction killer whales, Orky and Corky, to Sea World San Diego. According to the article, “The orders that had come down the day before were accompanied by strict warnings against leaking the news. ... Marineland’s new owner, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, had ordered the famous whales shipped out that night.” Twenty-two days later, Jovanovich abruptly closed the park and fired its 300 employees.

Orky died the next year, in September 1988. Fortunately, his mate Corky is still alive in San Diego at age 60. Here’s hoping Billy and Tina will thrive in their new home at the Tulsa Zoo.

Paul Robert Coyle, Valley Village