There were about 20 of us in court this morning supporting lawyer Melissa Lerner as she tried to convince the judge to grant an injunction to prevent Denise Verret from sneaking Billy and Tina out of the LA Zoo to the Tulsa Zoo and breeding facility in the middle of the night before the City Council can make a determination on their future. Lerner’s arguments were persuasive and the defense offered basically nothing. They are so full of hubris and have so little respect for the people of LA and the LA City Council that they feel they can do whatever they want with Billy and Tina, including sending them to certain death in Tulsa.
The judge was quick to say that it was not his place to decide where Billy and Tina would be sent and said that it would be up to the City Council. This means that we have to double down on our efforts to pressure City Council Members to take 30 days to explore other options, per Councilman Blumenfield’s motion. They also must prevent Verret from removing Billy and Tina from the zoo by stealth. Verret cannot be trusted.
Please continue to email Mayor Bass at bit.ly/contactmayorbass if you live in the county of LA and at david.bright@lacity.org ATTN: Mayor Bass or anna.hovasapian@lacity.org ATTN: Mayor Bass if you live elsewhere in California, the US or out of the country. Email every day and encourage your friends to email as well.
You can leave a message for Mayor Bass at 213-978-0600
If you’d like to express your feelings to Denise Verret her email is dverret@aza.org
We also encourage you to email all of the City Council members. Here is a list of them and their emails. Anyone can email and call them no matter where you live.
Los Angeles City Council Members Information
Ø Councilmember District 1 Eunisses Hernandez
o Email: councilmember.hernandez@lacity.org
o Phone: 213 473-7001
Ø Councilmember District 2 Adrin Nazarian
o Email: Councilmember.Nazarian@lacity.org
o Phone: (213) 473-7002
Ø Councilmember District 3 Bob Blumenfield
o Email: councilmember.blumenfield@lacity.org
o Phone: (213) 473-7003
Ø Councilmember District 4 Nithya Raman
o Email: contactCD4@lacity.org
o Phone: (213) 473-7004
Ø Councilmember District 5 Katy Yaroslavsky
o Email: councilmember.yaroslavsky@lacity.org
o Phone: (213) 473-7005
Ø Councilmember District 6 Imelda Padilla
o Email: councilmember.padilla@lacity.org
o Phone: (213) 473-7006
Ø Councilmember District 7 Monica Rodriguez
o Email: councilmember.rodriguez@lacity.org
o Phone: (213) 473-7007
Ø Councilmember District 8 Marqueece Harris-Dawson
o Email: councilmember.harris-dawson@lacity.org
o Phone: (213) 473-7008
Ø Councilmember District 9 Curren D. Price, Jr.
o Email: councilmember.price@lacity.org
o Phone: (213) 473-7009
Ø Councilmember District 10 Heather Hutt
o Email: cd10@lacity.org
o Phone: (213) 473-7010
Ø Councilmember District 11 Traci Park
o Email: councilmember.park@lacity.org
o Phone: (213) 473-7011
Ø Councilmember District 12 John Lee
o Email: councilmember.Lee@lacity.org
o Phone: (213) 473-7012
Ø Councilmember District 13 Hugo Soto-Martínez
o Email: councilmember.soto-martinez@lacity.org
o Phone: (213) 473-7013
Ø Councilmember District 14 Ysabel J. Jurado
o Email: Councilmember.Jurado@lacity.org
o Phone: (213) 473-7014
Ø Councilmember District 15 Tim McOsker
o Email: councilmember.mcosker@lacity.org
o Phone: (213) 473-7015
I emailed all of these councilmembers and so far none of them have come back. I hope they are all correct and you get through to them. Their inboxes need to be inundated with pleas from us to send Billy and Tina to a sanctuary.
My fight to get Billy moved to a sanctuary began over 35 years ago when Bob Barker was leading the charge and Billy was a baby. Since then I have worked with many groups and on my own to do what I could to free Billy. We’ve tried everything and nothing has worked. Finally, now that the elephant exhibit at the LA Zoo is being shut down there is no reason in the world why these two suffering elephants can’t be sent to a sanctuary for the sake of their mental and physical well-being. The only people standing in the way of a beautiful new life for both of them are Karen Bass and her lackey Denise Verret, two cold-hearted, cruel women who are determined to make these elephants suffer until they die. Why they have this vicious agenda is inexplicable.
The reports I’ve heard on TV and radio rejected Verret’s lies about Tulsa being a “preserve” and are supporting our side. Attorney Lerner is doing everything in her power to make that clear to the media. The court appearance this morning gave her another chance to talk to them and lay out the facts, as opposed to the lies of Verret.
We can’t let up. Billy and Tina can’t fight for their freedom but they have us who love them and who won’t stop fighting until they are free. Please take a few minutes a day to do your part. It’s now or never for these two magnificent precious animals. My heart will be broken into a million pieces if we fail them.
