Bird Marella Founding Principal Terry Bird was honored on May 6, 2017 at UCLA Royce Hall by the Voice for the Animals Foundation and presented with the “Lily Award” in appreciation of the firm’s pro-bono work with VFTA to have “Billy” the elephant removed from the Los Angeles Zoo and sent to an animal sanctuary. Terry and Bird Marella Managing Principal Paul Chan previously worked with VFTA in 2007 in another L.A. Zoo elephant case. In that case “Ruby” the elephant eventually was successfully removed from the Zoo and sent to an animal sanctuary in Tennessee.
Actress and animal activist Lily Tomlin presented the award. Terry graciously accepted the award and also thanked Bird Marella Principal Dorothy Wolpert and Associate Kimberly Miller. Dorothy and Kim have worked tirelessly with Terry to try to convince the City of Los Angeles to allow Billy, like Ruby, to be removed from the Zoo and re-homed to a sanctuary to live out the remainder of his life in a much more healthy, humane and natural environment.
