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LETTERS AND EMAILS NEEDED!
Help Lucy the Elephant Today

Please support the Zoocheck Canada/Voice for Animals campaign to move Lucy, the zoo's sole remaining elephant, to the Elephant Sanctuary, a world renowned 2,700 acre natural habitat elephant facility, in Tennessee.

With the recent transfer of Samantha, a female African elephant, to the North Carolina Zoo, Lucy is now alone. She is overweight and suffering from chronic arthritis and foot problems. She is also 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.

Only one other zoo elephant, Maggie at the Alaska Zoo, is currently kept alone. But recently, the Alaska Zoo made a decision to transfer Maggie to a sanctuary in California, so, once Maggie is moved, Lucy will be the most socially isolated elephant on the continent.

The Valley Zoo has stated that it has no plans to move Lucy and they claim 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 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.

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

(Fax) 780-496-8297

(Email)
Mayor and Members of Council
City of Edmonton

Please send a copy of your email to Zoocheck