Trial Over L.A. Zoo Elephants Begins

The animal rights community will be watching carefully as a trial kicked off Monday in a Downtown Los Angeles courtroom.

At the core of the case is how well the elephants at the L.A. Zoo are doing.

Are they really overweight with cracked toes and feet, as plaintiff Aaron Leider alleges in court papers?

Or, are they exercised regularly and pampered with special foot treatments, as attorneys defending the zoo allege?

Judge and jury will be sorting that our as testimony in the case opens, with the plaintiff, a realtor, asking the $42 million dollar exhibit be shut down.

The suit, alleging animal abuse, is based on a ``taxpayer waste''
statute, which authorizes injunctive relief in situations involving unlawful
conduct, government waste or injury to public property, in this case, the
elephants.

Read the full Los Angeles Times story here.