Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Court Overturns Protections For L.A. Zoo Elephants On A Technicality
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
()
The California Supreme Court voted Thursday to overturn a court order requiring the Los Angeles Zoo to protect its elephants, the L.A. Times reports. The 2012 court order, which required the L.A. Zoo to exercise its three Asian elephants at least two hours a day on soft ground and to bar the use of electric shock, was overturned on a technicality; the Supreme Court ruled that the taxpayers who obtained the injunction against the L.A. Zoo had used the wrong legal vehicle to address their grievances with the Zoo. The 2012 civil suit accused the L.A. Zoo of violating a criminal law against animal cruelty, but Thursday's Supreme Court ruling said that a taxpayer lawsuit cannot be used to stop criminal conduct. "The Supreme Court emasculated the only statute that offered lawyers a good chance to help animals," David Casselman, a Tarzana lawyer who worked on the taxpayer case for five years, told LAist.
The plight of L.A. Zoo elephants has already received attention from animal-welfare advocates like L.A. City Councilmember Paul Koretz, who filed a motion in April to free Billy the Elephant from captivity at the zoo. "The well-being of Billy is of the utmost importance to our office," Koretz told LAist, adding, "This Supreme Court ruling has no effect on our momentum working toward the goal of getting Billy to an animal sanctuary as soon as possible."
L.A. Zoo director John Lewis announced his intention to continue complying with the original elephant-protection suit in spite of this new ruling, telling the LA Times, "We will continue to exercise them and provide the best care for our elephants.”
LAist reached out to the L.A. Zoo for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist