take action! the free lucy campaign!
you can help give her a new life
Please support the Zoocheck Canada/Voice for Animals campaign to relocate Lucy, the sole remaining elephant at the Edmonton Valley Zoo, to the Elephant Sanctuary, a world renowned 2,700 acre natural habitat elephant facility, in Tennessee.
With the transfer of Samantha, a female African elephant, to the North Carolina Zoo in 2007, Lucy has been alone. She is overweight, suffering from chronic arthritis and foot problems, lethargic and displays prolonged periods of abnormal stereotypic behaviours, such as rocking and swaying.
Elephants, particularly females, are highly social animals that live in matriarchal family groups for most, if not all, of their lives. They should never be kept alone.
With the 2008 transfer of Maggie, a female elephant at the Alaska Zoo, to a sanctuary in California, Lucy is now the most northerly and socially isolated elephant on the continent.
The Valley Zoo has stated that it has no plans to move Lucy, that she is not a social elephant and that she is fine where she is. Not only are these statements contrary to everything that is known about the biology and behaviour of elephants, it also is contrary to Alberta's own zoo regulations which require that animals be kept in appropriate social environments.
The Valley Zoo also claims a mal-positioned molar in association with another medical condition make it dangerous to move Lucy, but they ignore the fact that elephants, many with serious health issues, are routinely moved from facility to facility and have been for more than 150 years.
The Edmonton Valley Zoo is municipally-owned and operated, so the City of Edmonton has the authority to determine how the zoo operates and what decisions are made.
Please write to the City of Edmonton Mayor and Members of Council, to let them know that you want Lucy moved to The Elephant Sanctuary as soon as possible. Tell them that Lucy should not be kept alone; that Edmonton is too cold for elephants; that the zoo's elephant exhibit is too small; and that keeping Lucy is in contravention of Alberta's zoo regulations.
Please add your signature to the petition which will be sent to Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel.
