Free Lucy! (the elephant)

This is a Timeline of the health records of Lucy(an elephant held in poor conditions in a Zoo)
Note - may not work in internet explorer ... firefox does work though.
Campaign Aim: Get Lucy out of Edmonton Valley Zoo and into a sanctuary

Lucy, a 33 year old Asian elephant, is living alone at the Edmonton Valley Zoo. Female elephants are highly social and suffer greatly when held in isolation. In addition to her psychological distress, Lucy has been suffering from arthritis as well as chronic foot and respiratory problems. To see a summarized list of Lucy’s medical condition visit: http://www.zoocheck.com/campaigns_elephant_LucyMedRecords.html .These records were taken directly from the zoo’s veterinary records obtained via Freedom of Information legislation. (These are the records laid out in the timeline above.. scoll by clicking it and using arrow keys, or pop it out for easier viewing.)

Given the cold climate in Edmonton and the policy of the zoo to lock Lucy in the barn when the zoo is closed, she spends at least 70% of her life inside of the barn and when she is allowed to go out, she is restricted to an enclosure that is less than an acre. The short walks that the zoo staff take Lucy on around the zoo grounds cannot compare to the freedom to move on her own terms throughout hundreds of acres of natural substrate with other elephants at a sanctuary.

The Province of Alberta Zoo Regulations state that animals must be kept in appropriate social groupings. The Alberta SPCA has been unwilling to enforce the law for Lucy because the zoo has told them that she is too sick to be moved. On the other hand the zoo also claims that Lucy’s heath conditions are under control and that she is fine where she is - two contradictory claims. Animal protection organizations are asking the Edmonton City Council to allow a sanctuary veterinarian to examine Lucy and provide any necessary care so that she can be safely moved to a US sanctuary as soon as possible and that the elephant exhibit be closed.

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Please write to the Edmonton City Council to give them your views on Lucy’s situation contact them at:

Mayor & Members of Council
City of Edmonton
1 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA T5J 2R7

(Fax) 780-496-8297

e-mail: councillors@edmonton.ca (councillors is spelled with two l’s in Canada)

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For Information and to get involved check out the Zoocheck's Free Lucy Campaign.

And thank you to Zoocheck for doing such great work to help animals.