Lawsuit over L.A. Zoo's elephants moves closer to trial

Animal welfare advocates who have been battling the Los Angeles Zoo over its elephant-keeping practices got one step closer to their day in court today.

The California Supreme Court has denied a petition by the city of Los Angeles to review a Court of Appeal’s decision in September allowing the animal welfare suit to go to trial.

Initially, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge threw the case out of court, saying the issues raised were political. That judge, however, was overruled by the Court of Appeal.

The suit was filed by actor Robert Culp and real estate agent Aaron Leider in 2007.

They allege that the Los Angeles Zoo, a city agency, had abused its elephants by keeping them in enclosures far too small to accommodate the world’s largest land mammals. The zoo is building a new exhibit that has come under fire from animal welfare advocates.

“It’s wrong for the city of Los Angeles to waste money on an inadequate elephant display,” said Catherine Doyle of the group In Defense of Animals.

The zoo, which has only one elephant, has long maintained that it takes proper care of pachyderms and that the new exhibit will fulfill the animals’ space and health needs.