Offering harsh criticism of the Los Angeles Zoo's treatment of elephants, a judge has ordered keepers to exercise the animals, till their soil and not use bullhooks or electric prods.

But Superior Court Judge John L. Segal stopped short of ordering the $42 million elephant exhibit shut down, as called for in a lawsuit by the late actor Robert Culp and real estate agent Aaron Leider.

In a 56-page decision that followed a six-day trial in June, Segal on Monday said "all is not well at the Elephants of Asia exhibit."

"Contrary to what the zoo's representatives may have told the Los Angeles City Council in order to get construction of the $42 million exhibit approved and funded, the elephants are not healthy, happy, and thriving," Segal wrote.

But, he added, "evidence is inconclusive on the issue of how much space an elephant needs (or three elephants need) ..."

Leider and Culp sued Zoo Director John Lewis and the city five years ago for an injunction to shut down the city's new exhibit on grounds it was too small to humanely house elephants.

The lawsuit alleged the zoo was guilty of animal abuse.

It also asserted government waste and injury to public property, including the deaths of 14 elephants over the years.

The 2007 lawsuit came on the heels of an attempt by animal welfare activists to prevent the exhibit from opening in December 2010, and to pack off its remaining pachyderms to a sanctuary.

The zoo currently houses three Asian elephants within 3.8 acres: 27-year-old Billy the bull, and Tina and Jewel, both females once rescued from an abusive circus.

Elephant welfare activists were disappointed the judge didn't close the exhibit, but were thrilled by judicial findings of insufficient care - which they say warrant the conclusion it should be closed.

Attorneys are considering whether to appeal.

"Twenty-three zoos across the United States have either closed, or are in the process of closing," said David Casselman, a Tarzana-based attorney who has worked pro bono on the case for five years.

"This decision cries out for the mayor and the City Council to take this new information to heart - and to reconcile their decision to continue the suffering of elephants at the Los Angeles Zoo."

Zoo spokesman Jason Jacobs released a statement Tuesday afternoon saying that, while zoo leaders were pleased the elephant exhibit would stay open, they disagreed with the judge's opinion regarding "the competency and validity of our elephant program."

The case, he said, "focused largely on outdated information and animal care practices and does not reflect the animal care decisions that have been made in recent years to improve the elephant habitat at the Los Angles Zoo."

Assistant City Attorney Valerie Flores agreed, saying the zoo's keepers already exercise the elephants, and haven't employed bullhooks since the lawsuit was filed in 2007.

"We're pleased that the court recognized that, although the zoo must undertake certain practices to improve the condition of the elephants, the court allowed the exhibit to remain open, and the elephants to stay in Los Angeles."

In an injunction regarding the treatment of Los Angeles elephants, Segal prohibited zookeepers from using bullhooks and electric shock in the management, care and discipline of the elephants.

But the zoo does not use bullhooks, and hasn't used cattle prods and other electric instruments on elephants in decades, Jacobs said in the statement.

The judge also required the zoo to exercise the elephants at least two hours a day, if weather or other conditions permit.

To help prevent health problems such as arthritis or degenerative bone disease caused by hard-packed dirt, he also required the zoo to till the exhibit's soil, or substrate, regularly.

Segal, in his descriptions of the elephants' Los Angeles environment, was sometimes harsh. He was also critical of zookeepers' knowledge of elephant behavior.

He said a "preponderance of the evidence" showed that the untilled ground within the elephants' compound created a risk of injury to the elephants' joints, feet, and nails.

But while he said the evidence also showed the quality of life for elephants at the L.A. Zoo was not good - and was having serious repercussions for their physical and emotional well-being - he fell short of calling the zoo abusive.

"Thus," Segal said, "the Elephants of Asia exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo is not a happy place for elephants, nor is it for members of the public who go to the zoo and recognize that the elephants are neither thriving, happy, nor content. Captivity is a terrible existence for any intelligent, self-aware species, which the undisputed evidence shows elephants are.

"To believe otherwise, as some high-ranking zoo employees appear to believe, is delusional. And the quality of life that Billy, Tina, and Jewel endure in their captivity is particularly poor."

Leider of Brentwood called the judge's ruling "fantastic - because our pursuit was always one of the truth, and the truth has not come out.

"I believe the public will demand the exhibit be closed."

Catherine Doyle, of In Defense of Animals, agreed.

"Today's decision sends the clear message that the L.A. Zoo's $42 million exhibit has not improved the elephant's health or well-being as promised," she said Tuesday.

"It's time to shut down the exhibit at the L.A. Zoo."