Judge, Extremely Critical of LA Zoo Imposes Conditions to Keep Elephant Exhibit Open

The 42 million dollar elephant exhibit at the LA Zoo can remain open provided that certain conditions are met. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge John L. Segal, in his 56-page opinion issued Tuesday, ordered the Los Angeles Zoo to improve the welfare of the elephants in its “Elephants of Asia” by doing the following:

      

courtesy google images

  "cease using bull hooks and electric shock in the management, care, and discipline of the elephants, exercise the elephants at least 2 hours a day, and rototill the soil and substrate of the elephant exhibit" consistent with specific  recommendations of named outside experts.

The judge further found that "this exhibit is not a happy place for elephants" and that the belief to the contrary by high ranking zoo officials is "delusional". It was further determined at trial that representations of the size and its state of the art design by  zoo officials to city council to obtain approval for the exhibit were sorely lacking in accuracy. First, half of the acreage is really for spectators and not the elephants, and second the surface upon which the elephants stand is actually detrimental to their health and well-being as it creates a "risk of injury to the elephants' joints, feet, and nails". He was further horrified by the lack of knowledge and "gaps in education" of the keeper in charge of the elephants.

spcaLA, along with other animal welfare advocates, have opposed this exhibit, pressured the zoo for years to close any elephant exhibit and requested USDA intervention on behalf of the elephants, as their treatment, though awful, and as Judge Segal confirmed, did not, legally, rise to the level of criminal animal cruelty or abuse. 

This verdict is a game changer. All eyes must be on the zoo to ensure that the orders of the court are followed as failing to so do could be seen as intentionally harming the elephants, which might be viewed as criminal. 

Better still - would be for the zoo to return the two female elephants, Tina and Jewel, to San Diego from where they are on loan, send Billy, the bull to sanctuary, and apologize to all of us for this fiasco.
  
Maybe this verdict will wake up other zoos still keeping elephants.

Congratulations to David Casselman, the attorney who sued the zoo on behalf of us taxpayers. 

        

Mother Pig Dies Hours After Giving Birth at Orange County Fair

Courtesy Google Images

Daisy a 3 year old sow died of a seizure Wednesday morning, one day after she gave birth to 11 pink and black piglets at the Orange County Fair. This reminds me of the gunning down of a pregnant dairy cow last year at the California State Fair who was shot and killed, as she, terrified, escaped from the nursery. These birthing exhibits are designed to allow cows, goats and pigs to entertain the fair going audience by giving birth on display. 

Despite the pleas of concerned animal welfare advocates, and a wealth of scientific/industry literature decrying the antiquated concept of birthing exhibits that involve stressful travel and confinement of these near term pregnant animals, the tradition of these exhibits continues. Modern technology notwithstanding, the need to actually watch a mother give birth seems to trump appeals to logic, science and basic notions of humanity.

Sources report that the piglets are being bottle fed by hand and their fate as to whether they will remain on a farm or be auctioned off is as yet undetermined. They further cite the authorities as saying the seizure was "unrelated". Unrelated to what? The pregnancy? The display stress? The Fair?  I would like to know what it IS related to!

I again submit to you that we are not teaching anyone anything with such displays except that it is okay to exploit other living beings. 

Where is the compassion and empathy in that?

NEW Update on Gunned Down Santa Monica Mountain Lion

Santa Monica lion courtesy Google images

UPDATE:  They heard us -Fish&Game 2 review policies to include non-lethal alternatives in dealing with mountain lions - http://ow.ly/j0c6d


Many of us expressed concern following the recent gunning down of a baby mountain lion whose quest for something to eat led him into downtown Santa Monica. In response, the Police Chief of Santa Monica, Jacqueline Seabrooks, convened a focus group comprised of representatives from the Santa Monica Police Department,  Department of Fish and Game, Animal Welfare Representatives, (including me, your spcaLA), National Park Service, veterinarians and others to review, discuss and suggest ways to avoid something like this from recurring in the future.

To her credit, Chief Seabrooks committed to providing specific training to her officers, purchasing additional resources, and creating a "phone tree" of experts in the community who can respond, assist and act should there be future wildlife encounters in the city.

However, this is not enough. Due to the protected status of the mountain lion in California, only the Department of Fish and Game or its delegate can tranquilize or take a mountain lion. Therein lies the problem. It was clear from the discussion that there are tranquilizers and delivery systems available to quickly and safely drug and control a mountain lion so that lethal force would remain a last resort. In other words, a drug that worked quickly and a "gun" that delivered the drug in a less painful and provocative method may have saved this lion's life.

The Department of Fish and Game uses Telazol and a dart gun, neither of which the experts in the room considered to be the best tools for the job. (To that end, the necropsy report was silent on how much of the Telazol was actually found in the lion.) It is therefore unknown whether the lion reacted to the pain of being stabbed by a dart, the number of people surrounding him, the Telazol itself which may have agitated before sedating, or because no drug was in his system at all and he was simply acting like a lion.

Your spcaLA specifically asked the Department of Fish and Game representatives to review the possibility of converting their drug and delivery protocols to something more effective. It seems to me that while anything can happen, the heart of the problem was the failure to sedate the lion and to have a proper plan in place for human personnel while waiting for a drug to take effect. It is this failure that could potentially also endanger the public. All I ask is that best practices be employed so that we maximize our chances of protecting both our people and our wildlife. If you agree, please email Charlton H. Bonham, the Director of Fish and Game at Director@dfg.ca.gov and echo my request for a thorough review of their capture protocols.

Finally, there is a proposal to create a wildlife corridor at Liberty Canyon under the 101 Freeway. This would connect two areas of natural habitat on either side of the freeway thus increasing the lions' roaming area while keeping them and motorists safe from a chance encounter. Caltrans applied to the federal government for a grant to do this last year which was denied but I am told that they will apply again. At that time I will ask for your assistance in persuading the government to award the grant. Clearly, preventing the lions from coming into the city in the first place will help prevent future killings.

courtesy Google images

As we continually develop cities and encroach into areas inhabited by wildlife, it is incumbent upon us to commit to doing our best in the face of a chance encounter. With your help - let's make it so.

Finally -Stronger California Regulations Governing Captive Wildlife

courtesy google images

 

Stronger state regulations dealing with the inspection of places that house wild animals have finally been approved by the California Department of Fish and Game Commission. As a member of the state-appointed Department of Fish and Game Captive Animal Advisory Committee that developed these new regulations I am happy to report that some progress has been made and cautiously optimistic that there will be more to come.

For example: despite state laws mandating that facilities handling these animals, such as private collections, sanctuaries, zoos, and circuses be inspected by the Department of Fish and Game to ensure the well-being of the animals and the safety of the public, the Department was allowing compliance through self-inspection. In other words, a facility’s own veterinarian was signing the forms that all was well! New regulations will mandate that the Department conduct these inspections and not personnel hired by the compound.

The goal of these new regulations is to make sure that captive wildlife is treated humanely, contained securely, and handled by qualified entities so as to reduce the danger to the public and the heartbreak of an animal’s untimely killing should he or she escape an insufficient enclosure. We all remember the chaos when

loose wild animals were gunned down in Ohio, the fatal attack of a teen after a tiger at the San Francisco Zoo escaped, the group of tigers that escaped in Moorpark or the mauling of two people by a chimp.

Maybe someday we will reach a place where wild animals are not held for sport, exhibition, entertainment or whim.

Baby Chimp Killed at Zoo While Visitors Watched

The first chimpanzee baby born at the Los Angeles Zoo in 13 years was killed by an adult male chimp while visitors watched. It is alleged that the male took the baby from the mother Tuesday afternoon, and after a skirmish the infant was dead and the mother despondent.

Despite the fact that zoo officials asserted that the attack "came out of the blue" there are other reports of fights that occurred in the exhibit days before the fatal attack that could have served as a portend of things to come. Craig Stanford, a USC professor who studies chimps, defended the zoo with his assertion that aggressive behavior in chimps occurs both in the wild and in captivity and that, in fact, "chimps can be very nasty animals. They abuse females, and they attack babies”. This actually suggests that no violent behavior between chimps could ever be "out of the blue" or a surprise to zoo personnel particularly when the introduction of a new baby stresses and further complicates the population dynamics in a confined space.

It seems easy to achieve and reasonable to expect, that in captivity, where the exhibit is constantly monitored and controlled by zoo keepers familiar with chimp behavior, that hyper vigilance is warranted and extra care mandated upon the birth of a baby. Erring on the side of caution may have yielded a different result. After all - they are not in the wild. We can and must intervene.

spcaLA, has called for a full investigation by city officials, the Department of Fish and Game and the USDA into the matter to determine if this tragedy could have been avoided, and to put remedial protocols in place to prevent or reduce the likelihood of future incidents involving chimps or any other animal held in captivity.

Sure, in the wild animals resolve their own issues and have ways to retreat from confrontation.  Once we trap them in a cage we have a duty to protect them.


Article first published as Infant Chimp Killed At Zoo While Visitors Watched on Technorati.

Woman Tossed Box of Live Kittens and Dog from Moving Car

Courtesy Google Images

Animal Control workers in Clarksville, Tennessee watched as a woman drove into the parking lot of the animal shelter and, first, tossed a box of live kittens out of her moving car, then, while continuing to drive, opened the car door and threw out a little Yorkie Terrier. The little dog chased after the car to no avail. Earlier in the same week, Clarksville shelter workers found two dogs packed in a cardboard box with only a note that read “Ate my chickens”. The box had no food, water or air vents.

Whether motivated by a stressful economy, rage at pooping indoors, vengeful feelings toward a spouse, whimsy or ennui, it is not uncommon for people to trash their pets. This author has come to work many a morning to discover a trash bag full of kittens or a dog tied to the doors of the building. It is however more common for people to simply leave their front doors ajar so pets could walk crawl or fly away on their own, or to dump them in parks, beaches, or highway rest stops. spcaLA officers were once called to retrieve two monkeys abandoned in a fast food restaurant jungle gym!

In most states abandoning a pet is in itself against the law, often a misdemeanor, or as a subsection of the state’s animal cruelty statute. In Tennessee – it is the latter. Either way, it is considered a crime. It is not only cruel to take a pet accustomed to living in a home, break his heart and place him in peril from traffic, disease,  hunger, street fights and other acts of cruelty by pranksters, but it also contributes to street breeding, pet overpopulation and higher than desired euthanasia rates at animal shelters.

In cases like this one, where the pet was dumped at a shelter, an argument will be made that not only was it not abandonment because the animals were “deposited” at an animal shelter, but that she should be congratulated for taking the time to do so, and that the leaving in a hurry was to avoid filling out forms or paying a relinquishment fee. Therefore, once she is located a prosecution must also focus on the dangerous and reckless way the animals were handled.

Of course, a lot will depend upon whether or not a prosecutor wants to put in the effort to try the case, whether a jury thinks it is worth their while to hear the case and whether a judge will consider a meaningful sentence upon conviction. After all, an imposed fine could cost less than a shelter processing fee and the cost of gas to get there.

Finally, animals reside in that interstitial place where they are legally categorized as property but are also legally mandated to be treated humanely.

As such - some are considered treasures, and others – trash.



Article first published as Woman Tossed Box of Live Kittens From Moving Car on Technorati.

Bon Soir Foie Gras

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE:  United States Supreme Court backs California's foie gras ban! http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/14/

Courtesy Google Images

Effective July 1st 2012, foie gras made from force feeding ducks, geese or any bird will be banned in California. In other words, the actual force feeding in California is prohibited as well as merely selling the pate if made elsewhere using the force feeding technique.

The law was passed in 2004 but it's effective date was delayed almost 8 years to give producers a chance to convert to a humane method of feeding the birds. The only producer in California, Artisan Foie Gras, in Sonoma, has declined to make those changes.

Recently, a group of chefs was unsuccessful in urging the legislature to repeal or extend the effective date of the ban. Though drowning their sorrows with their customers in secret foie gras parties (to avoid protesters), the chefs are really concerned that this ban will spread to other states. It is already banned in other countries such as Argentina, Israel, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Italy and lawsuits against the USDA as well as public pressure could soon create more momentum to stop this form of pate.


                  There once was a goose named Dakota,
                    who lived on a farm in Sonoma.
                  With a tube down her throat and a chef at the moat, 
                    she called on the people to help her.

                  The votes were amassed.
                  A foie gras ban passed.
                  And Dakota's liver is much slimmer.


Bon soir foie gras....