NhRP Executive Director on NhRP Lawsuit to Free Billy and Tina from the L.A. Zoo

UPDATE (5/20/25, 3 p.m. PT: The court system has finally accepted the elephants’ habeas petition in the criminal division of the LA Superior Court. The case has been assigned to Judge William C. Ryan for review. Read our press release here). 

Since this past Friday, the Nonhuman Rights Project has been attempting to file a habeas corpus petition seeking the right to liberty for Billy and Tina, two elephants held in captivity in the Los Angeles Zoo. As many NhRP supporters know, Billy and Tina should be released to an elephant sanctuary where their autonomy will be respected and they can live with peace and dignity. Instead, right now they’re facing imminent transfer to the Tulsa Zoo where the suffering they’ve endured will continue.

This is important: I use the phrase “we’ve been attempting to file a habeas corpus petition” because the court system has rejected our petition five times on two different days, thus preventing the elephants’ claim of unlawful confinement from even being looked at by a judge.

The court’s given reason is procedural. In brief, the court system is essentially saying it can’t process Billy and Tina’s habeas petition because their imprisonment isn’t a result of them having committed a crime–the court appears prepared to accept only criminal habeas corpus cases. This is wrong.

The elephants are innocent beings wrongly held in captivity. They’re about to become prisoners for life. They deserve to have their imprisonment considered by an impartial judge. I’m thinking in particular here of Billy, whom the L.A. Zoo has subjected to invasive semen collection procedures that involved holding Billy in place using an elephant restraint device and having a zoo employee insert their arm into his anus and massage his prostate. The systematic violation of his autonomy through restraint and forced penetration couldn’t be more apparent and egregious in my view. In my opinion it is cruel. And it is expected to continue at the Tulsa Zoo.

When we say animals are legally invisible, this is exactly what we mean. Right now Billy and Tina are being denied access to justice–the ability to have their petition even looked at by a judge–with the court telling us there’s no place for Billy and Tina’s case in the system. This is exactly what the NhRP is fighting to change.

We’re planning further legal action to demand that Billy and Tina receive access to justice, which is the very least of what they’re legally entitled to. Keep an eye on your inbox for details. While our litigation unfolds, you can help Billy and Tina by contacting Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who has authority over the city-owned L.A. Zoo, to urge her to halt this planned transfer and direct zoo leadership to release Billy and Tina to a sanctuary.

If you’re on social media, we encourage you to share your thoughts there too, tagging Mayor Bass and using the hashtags #FreeBilly, #FreeTina, and #NotAnotherZoo. 

Thank you to everyone working to make this world a just place for all beings.

Learn more about Billy and Tina on their client page.