Wildlife Rescue Series!

Diane Haynes’s GAIA WILD Too True To Life

Filed under: Uncategorized — Diane at 11:13 am on Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Diane Haynes’s Gaia Wild is proving to be a case of ‘life imitating art imitating life.’ The book was originally inspired by the story of Tina, the elephant who spent most of her life at the Greater Vancouver Zoo and was finally rescued and taken to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. In Edmonton, Lucy the elephant has undergone the same fate … but her rescue and safety are still not ensured. Read the Special Bulletin below, from Zoocheck Canada, and then take action. Write the Edmonton Valley Zoo and let them know you won’t stand for this. We gave Tina a measure of freedom at the end of her life; we can do it again for Lucy.

Thank you.

Lucy the elephant is suffering in the Edmonton Valley Zoo - please help

The following message is from Zoocheck Canada:

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.

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 health 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.

To 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)

For more information about Lucy and the campaign to move her to a sanctuary, visit www.zoocheck.com/campaigns_elephant.html

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Diane Haynes’s GAIA WILD Too True To Life

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