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Why
We Should Care
A Solitary Elephant needs your help!
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Elephants should not live without other Elephants – Elephants should not live in cold climates – Elephants are not dogs and cannot be exercised by being taken on short ‘walks’ – Elephants should not spend long, lonely hours locked up alone in a barn…. People should not do these things to Lucy the elephant, and then claim that they love her - People should not imprison living beings that they claim to love - Human Greed should not over-rule mercy, compassion and simple human decency. Bob Barker joins the struggle to have Lucy, the elephant released from the Valley Zoo in Edmonton. Lucy, a lonely elephant living alone in a small, northern zoo needs to be sent to a sanctuary. UPDATES!
Lucy, an Asian elephant living alone at the Valley Zoo in Edmonton, Alberta still lives without the companionship of other elephants. Lucy has rheumatoid arthritis and respiratory problems. Living in the cold climate of northern Alberta is completely unnatural for an elephant. Lucy has an opportunity to live at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee or the PAWS Sanctuary in California – but only if the Valley Zoo and the City of Edmonton releases her. These highly respected elephant sanctuaries are willing to take Lucy where she could join other Asian elephants. Both sanctuaries have large properties where she would never again be subject to the stress of public exhibition or cold winters. Lucy would roam freely with a herd over several acres of land in a warm climate – just what nature intended for her. In Tennessee or California, Lucy would live as natural a life as is possible for her after her long life in captivity. The Valley Zoo, a municipally owned facility, states that Lucy is too sick to transport to a sanctuary. But, Maggie, another elephant with health problems was successfully moved to the PAWS Sanctuary in California all the way from Alaska. Maggie is doing well in her new home among others of her own kind. If you visit the website for the Valley Zoo that owns Lucy, you will see that they talk about her ‘Enrichment’ programs including painting pictures and learning to play a musical instrument. But, these are unnatural behaviours that do more to entertain human visitors than to provide enrichment to Lucy. Read more about Lucy. The Valley Zoo states that Lucy is more bonded to humans than to other elephants – however Lucy has only had sustained elephant contact with Samantha, an African elephant who no longer lives at this zoo. As Lucy is an Asian elephant and Samantha is an African elephant, Lucy has not had a real opportunity to bond with a herd of her own species living in a natural setting. She would find that opportunity at the sanctuary in Tennessee. African and Asian elephants are not generally mixed together in sanctuary herds. Lucy deserves a happy retirement just like Maggie, the elephant that was released from the zoo in Alaska. You can read about Maggie and see pictures of her at the PAWS Sanctuary. If Lucy is not released to go to one of these elephant sanctuaries, she will live the rest of her days in the cold Edmonton climate, in a space that is too small, with only humans for companionship. Lucy’s human keepers say that they love her very much. This is not in dispute and we trust that they make every effort to sustain and care for Lucy in this very unnatural environment. Much of the year Lucy spends her time in a barn, rather than enjoying the hot sun, as she walks and forages over several acres each day, as she would in Tennessee. Lucy might indeed be painting pictures, playing musical instruments or playing hide-and-seek with her keepers – as we are told she does at the Valley Zoo website - but the truth remains that these are unnatural activities for an elephant. Walking with a herd of fellow elephants over several kilometers each day in a warm climate is natural for an elephant. Lucy has already served the City of Edmonton and the Valley Zoo. Lucy helped the zoo earn money, and provided entertainment to visitors. This has taken up all of Lucy’s life since her capture from the wild. Like all good workers she should be able to retire now. Lucy has paid for her keep with her entire existence. It is not enough to say that Lucy is too sick to be transported to a more natural environment. Lucy’s health problems are one of the reasons why she should live in a climate and manner more natural for her. Lucy could be assessed by the sanctuary staff before transport. These sanctuary workers have extensive experience with elephants and the process of transporting them. It seems reasonable that they would be most qualified to assess Lucy’s ability to travel. As the Valley Zoo management has Lucy’s best interests at heart, we urge them to begin open consultations with the Sanctuary staff to share the discussion about what is best for Lucy.
Please visit www.zoocheck.com to learn more about Lucy and send an email for her. A suggested template: “Dear Mayor and Councilors of Edmonton: Like all good city employees, Lucy the elephant deserves to retire. We know that the people of Edmonton are generous and kind, and will not force this elephant to live out her last days in our cold country. Just as the people of Alaska made the honourable choice to let their zoo’s elephant, Maggie, enjoy a comfortable retirement, we believe that the citizens of Edmonton will also choose the unselfish act of releasing this lone elephant to live among her own species for whatever time is left of her life. Please send Lucy to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee or the PAWS Sancturary in California. Yours truly,” Email the Mayor and Councilors of Edmonton, Alberta at councillors@edmonton.ca Email the Editor at Edmonton’s major newspapers: www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/letters.html, and The Edmonton Sun: mailbag@edmsun.com.
Ontario now has tougher laws to protect animals.
Bill 50, a bill to amend the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act—more simply known as the “Provincial Animal Welfare Act” -- became law in Ontario in 2009.
Bill 50 makes important changes to the Ontario SPCA Act—the first comprehensive changes to the legislation since 1919.
Hopefully, these new laws will help to better protect animals from cruelty and neglect in the province of Ontario, Canada.
We sincerely thank Ontario’s Premier, Dalton McGuinty, Minister Rick Bartolucci, and every member of the Ontario government who supported Bill 50.
We thank our MPPs for recognizing how vital this new legislation will be for the future protection of animals living in Ontario.
Some important changes that Bill 50 made are:
For more information on Bill 50, please see its official website, provided by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Unfortunately, this legislation does not include Mandatory Licensing of those who keep wild animals captive in zoos, exhibits, private collections or as pets. Though we regret the omission of this pro-active measure, we expect these new laws will help correct the shameful conditions that countless animals endure in poor quality ‘roadside’ zoos across Ontario. Hopefully, these Standards of Care and increased inspection powers will help OSPCA officers to protect animals like Tyson, the Kangaroo – the animal that could not be rescued from his small, lonely pen even though many people tried so hard to help him. FOCA Friends of Captive Animals Promoting compassionate care of captive wild animals FOCA Friends of Captive Animals, June, 2009. |
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©2007-2009 Friends of Captive Animals |
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