AR-News: Judge orders report on elephant's happiness

[jim robertson]

Judge orders report on elephant's happiness


Los Angeles _ A judge gave a Tennessee zoo six months to convince him that 
an African elephant named Ruby is adapting well to her new home after being 
separated from a pachyderm friend in Los Angeles last year.

Judge George Wu ordered the report from the Knoxville Zoo on Thursday during 
a hearing in a lawsuit that seeks to return Ruby to the Los Angeles Zoo.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's the first time in America that we've had a 
Superior Court judge bend over backwards to see if
an elephant is happy," said Gretchen Wyler, vice president of the U.S. 
Humane Society's Hollywood office.

Attorneys for the city of Knoxville say Ruby has not suffered since being 
separated from a companion named Gita nearly a year ago, when she was sent 
to Tennessee for a breeding program.

The lawsuit claims Ruby is lonely, spends most of her time by herself on a 
concrete floor and does not breed.


http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=050104&ID=s1515601&cat=section.Animals
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



"One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or 
torture an animal and get away with it" —  Margaret Mead.

_________________________________________________________________
FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar – get it now! 
http://toolbar.msn.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/