Lily Tomlin and More to Headline WAIT WAIT...DON'T KILL ME! Voice for the Animals Comedy Benefit
By: BWW News Desk May. 02, 2017
"Panelists" Lily Tomlin and June Diane Raphael (Grace and Frankie), Craig Ferguson (The Craig Ferguson Show), Whitney Cummings (Unforgettable) and Casey Wilson (Happy Endings) will compete in this quiz show formatted event, loosely inspired by NPR's "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!," by fielding animal-themed questions from host Paul Scheer (The League).
All proceeds will support VFTA as they continue their fight for creating respect and empathy for animals through education, rescue, legislation and advocacy, including their work to move Billy the Elephant from the L.A. Zoo to a sanctuary (#FreeBillyNow).
To purchase tickets ($25-100), visit roycehall.org or Ticketmaster. For VIP tickets and sponsorship opportunities, go to vftafoundation.org/tickets.
Voice For The Animals (VFTA) is a 501c3, non-profit charitable foundation which is devoted to creating respect and empathy for animals through education, rescue, legislation, and advocacy. The organization was founded by Melya Kaplan in 1999 when she realized that although there were many great rescuers, there was a dire need for a new type of animal protection organization with programs to empower people to help more animals. VFTA has many programs that focus on animal protection, including an Animal Assistance Hotline, Rescue and Adoption, Working Cats, LA Zoo Watch, Helping Friends, Abuse Prevention, Humane Education, Political Animal, Feral Colonies, VFTA in Greece, Animal Films, and an Elephants in Captivity Awareness Campaign. The Captivity is Not Conservation campaign is devoted to educating people about the plight of Billy the Elephant and his life in captivity. Connect with the Voices for the Animals Foundation at vftafoundation.org and #FreeBillyNow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To learn more about Billy the Elephant and to sign the petition to get Billy to a sanctuary, visit www.helpbilly-vfta.org.
ABOUT BILLY THE ELEPHANT (#FreeBillyNow): Billy is a male Asian elephant caught in the wild and forcibly taken, as a part of a trade between the LA Zoo and the Malaysian Game Department, from his native home of Malaysia. Now, Billy lives on approximately one-quarter acre at the L.A. Zoo. Wild elephants can walk up to 100 miles in a day, and there are roughly 640 acres in one mile. With only one quarter acre of land on which to roam, it is virtually impossible for Billy to get the daily exercise he needs to be both physically and psychologically healthy. With no other elephants near him, Billy lives an unnatural, solitary life at the zoo. For many years, Billy has been displaying stereotypic behavior in the form of repetitive head bobbing that goes on for extended periods of time. Stereotypic behaviors are repetitive behaviors that are often seen in captive animals, particularly those given inadequate mental stimulation. What's more, stereotypic behavior is never seen in wild animals. Many experts consider stereotypic behavior to be an indicator of poor psychological welfare, which is likely caused by restriction of movement, size of enclosure, social isolation, or lack of complexity in the physical environment. Billy has experienced these factors at the L.A. Zoo. In fact, from his arrival at the L.A. Zoo in 1989 until 1994, Billy was routinely chained each night for approximately 12 to 14 hours at a time. It was during this period that a keeper reportedly physically abused Billy by using electric shock on him. On April 18It is VFTA's goal to get the City of Los Angeles to send Billy the Elephant to a Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) sanctuary. Go to www.helpbilly-vfta.org to learn more and sign the petition to get Billy to a sanctuary.
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