PETA Wins Monterey Zoo Lawsuit Appeal

A California court of appeals ruled in PETA’s favor that the Monterey Zoo had failed to establish that its use of canes to poke, prod, and control elephants as a stand-in for bullhooks somehow arises from activity protected by the First Amendment. The ruling means that we can move forward with our lawsuit alleging that the zoo has engaged in unlawful business practices by using the canes as weapons in violation of California’s ban on bullhooks and other devices “designed to inflict pain for the purpose of training or controlling the behavior of an elephant.” This victory also means that the zoo is no longer entitled to collect its attorneys’ fees and costs from PETA—instead, it now has to pay our costs on appeal.