Lucy the elephant is the lone elephant at the Valley Zoo in Edmonton, Alberta. Since the release of Maggie from the Alaska Zoo to the PAWS Wildlife Sanctuary in 2007, Lucy has become the most northerly elephant in the world. Edmonton is not suitable to meet the requirements of elephants, and she needs to be moved to a more suitable climate immediately. Watch our YouTube video below about the plight of Lucy.

 

Click here for Lucy's biography.

Click here for a medical history of Lucy - UPDATED for 2009.

Read a letter from Mayor Mandel to one of Lucy's supporters.

Read expert depositions regarding Lucy's issue.

Local veterinarian Dr. Debi Zimmermann's report on Lucy's welfare.  

Dr. Debi Zimmermann's debunking of zoo myths.

V4A Information Package for Councilors on Lucy's Welfare

Read the Zoocheck report by Winnie Kiiru.

Mail a letter wherever possible but a fax or email will work in a pinch.

• Contact the Mayor & City Councilors (click here for detailed contact information) - if you email (below), please copy voice for animals at info@v4a.org
  
• karen.leibovici@edmonton.ca
• linda.sloan@edmonton.ca
• ron.hayter@edmonton.ca
• kim.krushell@edmonton.ca
• ed.gibbons@edmonton.ca
• tony.caterina@edmonton.ca
• jane.batty@edmonton.ca
• ben.henderson@edmonton.ca
• bryan.anderson@edmonton.ca
• don.iveson@edmonton.ca
• amarjeet.sohi@edmonton.ca
• dave.thiele@edmonton.ca
• stephen.mandel@edmonton.ca
  
• Write to the media
• Sign the paper petition started by Friends of Lucy
• Visit the Kids Save Lucy site for things kids can do to help!

There is also an online petition to sign asking the Valley Zoo to release Lucy. Please, take a moment to add your name to this cause.

 

UPDATE:

July 18, 2010

The Edmonton Valley Zoo held a Summer Celebration Day on Sunday July18. 2010. Members of Voice for Animals, PETA and Zoocheck Canada held a demo at the zoo to let the public know that this promotion by the zoo is like a cruel joke for Lucy. Alone and suffering from a number of captivity related health problems it is a sure bet that Lucy has nothing to celebrate.

Lucy is now looking forwards to enduring another lonely, miserable winter cooped up in her tiny stall at the Valley Zoo. This confinement is slowly killing her as surely as it has killed almost every other captive elephant by the age of 40. Lucy suffers from arthritis and chronic foot infections – both of which are leading causes of death among captive elephants. In addition, she is suffering from respiratory problems and behaviours that indicate severe psychological distress.

So while the Valley Zoo celebrates in an attempt to bolster their bottom line, Lucy continues to languish alone and in pain.

To date there has been no decision by the courts as to whether the legal action taken by PETA and Zoocheck Canada against the City of Edmonton, in an effort to apply Alberta’s Animal Protection Act, will go ahead.

Lucy’s only chance for relief from her suffering is to be moved to a sanctuary.

photo courtesy of Andy Balce

February 1, 2010

Respected attorney Clayton Ruby held a news conference in Edmonton today (Feb. 1, 2010) on behalf of PETA, Zoocheck Canada and Voice for Animals. Mr. Ruby announced the initiation of legal action against the City of Edmonton to seek enforcement of Alberta’s Animal Protection Act. The City of Edmonton owned Valley Zoo must meet the standards set out in this Act in regards to Lucy the elephant’s living conditions. These conditions, according to expert testimony, are cruel, causing her pain and privation. The City has been given until March 1, 2010 to respond to the application.

Read the affidavits below regarding Lucy's situation.

AFFIDAVIT OF DR. PHILIP K. ENSLEY

AFFIDAVIT OF DR. JOYCE POOLE

AFFIDAVIT OF DR. HENRY MELVYN RICHARDSON

AFFIDAVIT OF DR. WILLIAM KEITH LINDSAY Part 1

AFFIDAVIT OF DR. WILLIAM KEITH LINDSAY Part 2

AFFIDAVIT OF DR. WILLIAM KEITH LINDSAY Part 3

 

December 18, 2009

Voice for Animals brought City Council an early Christmas gift this year.  A lump of coal for letting Lucy down yet another year.

 

September 17, 2009

Bob Barker paid a visit to Edmonton, and brought renowned elephant expert Dr. Joyce Poole, PAWS co-founder Ed Stewart, PAWS vet Dr. Dan Famini, and Campaign Director for ZooCheck Canada Julie Woodyer.

A big thanks goes out each and every one of these wonderful people who took time out of their day and money out of their pocket to come to Edmonton and help Lucy!

 

August, 2009

Voice for Animals will have bus ads running in the north-east, west, and south sides of the city.

ZooCheck has recently started running a billboard and bus shelter ad campaign to raise awareness about Lucy's plight.

 

August 8th, 2009 - PETA joined in on the fight to get Lucy to a sanctuary.  They held a rally outside of The Valley Zoo.  Visit the V4A Video Diary to see what happened during the rally.

 July 22nd, 2009 - A rally is held outside of City Hall to remind politicians that Lucy's health and welfare needs to remain on the table.

June 30, 2009 - Local veterinarian Dr. Debi Zimmermann released a new report concerned with Lucy's welfare.

Listen to Dr. Debi Zimmermann on CBC Radio. 

Zoo elephants have a life expectancy of only 38 years. Lucy is now 34 and has chronic health problems making it critical  for her to be moved to a sanctuary where she has a chance to heal. There have been numerous offers of a free examination of Lucy by veterinarians expert in elephant care, but  Zoo officials are dragging their heels putting Lucy's life in jeopardy to protect their own personal agendas.

Listen to an interview with Dr. Zimmerman on CBC radio.

June 20, 2009 - The first International Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos is held at the Vally Zoo.  Watch the video on our YouTube Video Diary.

 

 

 

December 18, 2008 - Lou-Lou the elephant visited City Hall to present each councilor with a copy of a video urging the Valley Zoo and the City of Edmonton to send Lucy to the Elephant Sanctuary. The video was produced by Channel G , a US 501c3 nonprofit corporation. This video points to the conditions at the Valley Zoo and Edmonton’s cold climate as inappropriate for elephants.

Here are some pictures from the visit:

 

 

 

November 12, 2008 - On November 12th, Lou-Lou, cousin twice removed of Lucy the elephant at the Valley Zoo, visited City Hall in Edmonton, Alberta to plead with Councilors for the release of Lucy. Lou-Lou came armed with copies of Rob Laidlaw's new book Wild Animals In Captivity to present to each Councilor.

 

Lucy has an open invitation to go to a world-class sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, called The Elephant Sanctuary. The sanctuary sits on 2700 acres of land, complete with a huge lake, trees, rolling hills, mud holes, fields of grass... pretty much everything an elephant could want. Best of all Lucy would have other elephants to keep her company, and the choice to do what she wants and go where she wants... something that we as human beings all take for granted.

Lou-Lou is quoted as saying "Lucy is the new Maggie and she should be moved to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee now, before her health gets any worse." Her comment refers to Maggie, the lone elephant from the Alaska Zoo, who was far more ill than Lucy, but non-the-less successfully moved to the PAWS Wildlife Sanctuary in California in 2007.

Edmonton owes it to Lucy to give her the best possible life she can have. Her health is fast deteriorating in Edmonton. The Valley Zoo, headed by Dean Treichel, refuses to let her go, since she is the flagship exhibit at the zoo. We ask all concerned people to write to Dean at the Valley Zoo, as well as the Councilors for the City of Edmonton, and express your concern for the health and welfare of Lucy. Writing a letter takes no more than a few minutes of your time, and the cost of a stamp. It's the least you can do to help alleviate the suffering of Edmonton's largest resident.


Councilors and Mayor:

2nd Floor, City Hall
1 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, AB
T5J 2R7

To find out the Councilor you should be writing to, visit the City of Edmonton website.


Dean Treichel, Supervisor of Animal Care and Operations:

The Valley Zoo
PO Box 2359
Edmonton, Alberta
T5J 2R7

 

 

October 23, 2008 - An energizing talk was given by Rob Laidlaw from ZooCheck Canada on the plight of animals in zoos around the world. Of course, he addressed Lucy specifically. There was a great turn out, and there was a lot of interest in getting Lucy out of the Valley Zoo as quickly as possible. Video was taken of the talk, so stay tuned to the V4A YouTube page, it will be coming soon.

March 27, 2007 - Elephant Dung Cookies for Councillors and the Mayor

Elephants, especially female elephants, should not be housed alone. This is one of the minimum, substantial welfare recommendations by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA, England), the Amarican Zoologocal Association (AZA), Canadian Zoos and Aquariums Association (CAZA) and the Alberta Standards for Zoos. Lucy is facing loneliness and a number of other serious welfare shortcomings at the Valley Zoo that will eventually lead to a premature death.

The management at the Valley Zoo claims that Lucy’s keepers are her herd and that she is too sick to be moved. The Mayor and many of the City Councillors have bought into the idea that Lucy is happy where she is, that her needs are being met and that it would be dangerous to move her.

Voice for Animals baked cookies to resemble elephant dung which were then individually packaged and presented to each of the Councillors and the Mayor. Our message was that Lucy is a sad and lonely elephant with a number of health problems which would almost certainly clear up if she were moved to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

 

December 20, 2007 - Give Lucy the Gift of Freedom was our message to the City Councillors and Mayor Stephen Mandel. Each Councillor and the Mayor received a gift of a stuffed elephant with this message tied around its neck. In the spirit of this season of goodwill we urged City Council to reciprocate by sending Lucy to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

Despite harassment by City Hall front desk staff and several security guards, a number of V4A supporters delivered the 12 gift boxes, one for each Councillor to their office on the 2nd floor. The Mayor was downstairs preparing to take part in a Christmas concert. With a very surprised look on his face and surrounded by media and cameras the Mayor accepted his gift. We can only hope that Lucy’s plight will touch their hearts and that City Council in the generosity of the season will give Lucy what she really needs – the gift of freedom.

September 27, 2007 - Zoocheck and Voice for Animals has released a press release calling for the immediate relocation of Lucy to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

September 26, 2007 - Samantha is now on her way to the U.S. to be bred. Lucy is now alone at the Valley Zoo.

August 25, 2007 - After the Valley Zoo tried to bully V4A from tabling at the Fringe (read the full story here and here ), Tove, our fearless president, Diane, Carly, and our elephant-suited Val moved the table to the entrance of the Valley Zoo itself. The protest lasted a very short time, but not before elephant postcards were passed out, and a few potential Valley Zoo customers were spoken with. Here are a few pictures from the protest:

July, 2007 - V4A Launches the Lucy & Sam Postcard Campaign

June 16, 2007 - V4A Reaction to Samantha Being Sent on "Breeding Loan"

April 27th, 2007 - V4A and Zoocheck Meeting With Edmonton Councillors.

April 25th, 2007 - Rob Laidlaw from Zoocheck spoke at Grant MacEwan College about nonhuman animals in captivity. The turnout was great.

If you have not already, please write or email your city councilor and the media with regards to Lucy. Winni Kiiru's Zoocheck report is putting pressure on the Valley Zoo to move Lucy to the Tennessee Sanctuary, and we need your help to drive the issue home.

Read the Zoocheck report by Winnie Kiiru.

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