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Cher released a statement on Sunday, May 11, 2025, advocating relocating two elephants, Billy and Tina, from the Los Angeles Zoo to a sanctuary. According to Fox's May 11 report, the LA Zoo announced on April 22 that the two Asian elephants would be transferred to a preserve.
It was later revealed that Billy and Tina would be sent to the Tulsa Zoo, an 84-acre zoo in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In her statement, Cher stated that the two elephants had suffered enough and deserve to live in "peace and dignity." She also pointed out that the Tulsa Zoo is not the right place for them.
"Billy has been locked up since 1989. Tina was held captive in a private zoo prior to being placed in the LA Zoo. They have been through hell. I've seen firsthand what it takes to rescue, rehabilitate, and safely relocate elephants to sanctuaries. The Tulsa Zoo is not a sanctuary. Billy and Tina have served their time in confinement. They deserve the chance to live out their lives in peace and dignity," she stated.
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According to The Hollywood Reporter's May 11 report, the singer, who co-founded Free the Wild, an international charity for captive animals, requested that the elephants be relocated to a sanctuary.
"I am asking for you to put the decision on hold until we can further investigate the possibility of transferring Billy and Tina to a sanctuary. Sanctuaries offer acres of soft, natural terrain, trees, rivers, and freedom," she stated.
Previously, Cher's 'Free the Wild' charity helped relocate Kavaan, an elephant from Pakistan to Cambodia
According to Smithsonian Magazine's April 2021 report, in 2015, Samar Khan, a US veterinarian, visited Islamabad Zoo while visiting her family in Pakistan. She saw the country's only elephant, Kavaan, and his poor living conditions, and launched a campaign on X (formerly known as Twitter). Khan also created a petition on Change.org, which garnered over 400,000 signatures.
In 1985, Kavaan was gifted to Pakistan by Sri Lanka. His mate, Saheli, was brought from Bangladesh in 1990. Saheli passed away in 2012. Khan observed that Kavaan was in chains. The media outlet stated that he became emotionally unstable in the inhumane conditions and ended up killing two keepers.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, the singer learned about Kavaan's story from X. Netizens' outpouring of demands caught the singer's eye.
"I remember when I started to hear about it [on X], because it came in sort of a flood. It was all 'Save Kaavan, Save Kaavan' and 'Free Kaavan, Free Kaavan'—it was constant," Cher stated.
The Islamabad High Court ruled on May 21, 2020, that Kavaan will be freed. The court ordered wildlife officials to find a suitable habitat for the elephant outside Pakistan and criticized the Islamabad Zoo for neglecting Kavaan for years. The Zoo was then closed following the court's orders.
On July 17, 2020, Cher's 'Free the Wild' announced that the court had granted them permission to relocate Kavaan to Lek's sanctuary in Cambodia. In November 2020, Kavaan was moved to Cambodia.
The relocation journey was captured on Paramount's documentary Cher & the Loneliest Elephant. It is available on Paramount Plus.
