EDMONTON – Lucy the elephant – come on down!
Animal-rights activist and former game-show host Bob Barker was in Edmonton on Thursday to lobby for the relocation of the ailing elephant from the city’s small zoo to a sanctuary in the United States where she can live out the rest of her life with other pachyderms.
However, Barker’s sales pitch appeared to make little impression on staff at the Valley Zoo after a one-hour meeting.
They were adamant Lucy is just fine where she is and the white-haired Barker emerged to say he was sadly disappointed.
“There’s very little agreement on anything,” he told a swarm of reporters. “One minute they say she’s happy and healthy and the next minute they say that she’s too ill to travel.”
But the 85-year-old Barker insists he’s not giving up on Lucy and will continue fighting to have her relocated.
“Before I go to my maker I would like to see Lucy in the sanctuary.”
Barker’s visit to Edmonton was a high-profile point in the prolonged and escalating tug-of-war over Lucy’s fate. Animal-rights activists point out that elephants are highly social animals and can suffer when left on their own.
Earlier this week, the zoo released an expert report that concluded a move would endanger the 34-year-old elephant’s life.
Dr. James Oosterhuis, a veterinary consultant in San Diego, examined Lucy and issued a letter to the zoo explaining how the elephant is having breathing issues.
“Her current respiratory problems preclude any thought of moving her and in fact, it would be life threatening,” wrote Oosterhuis. “It is my opinion that it would be unethical for any veterinarian to recommend moving her.”
Zoo manager Linda Cochrane said it appeared they simply agreed to disagree with Barker and the two animal experts who joined him at the meeting.
“We’re responsible for this elephant,” said Cochrane. “We’ve had her here for 32 years and we just want to do what’s in her best interests.”
Barker, who ended every episode of his “Price is Right” game show with a reminder for people to spay or neuter their pets, says he was attracted to Lucy’s cause when Zoocheck wrote him a letter explaining her plight.
Earlier in the day, Barker was flanked by veterinarians and animal-rights activists at a news conference as he laid out a long list of reasons why Lucy would be better off with other elephants in a sprawling sanctuary setting.
“Lucy is not going to get better at the zoo, but she might very well improve in health and certainly in happiness at the sanctuary,” he said.
“We would like to have a panel of five veterinarians and see how quickly she could be ready to travel if she couldn’t travel right now.”
Barker’s corner questioned the San Diego vet’s findings.
“As far as we’re concerned, there has been no independent review of Lucy’s health,” said Julie Woodyear, director of Zoocheck Canada. “We would like to see a team of experts brought in.”
The next step may be a legal one.
Barker said the animal-rights group People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals has retained high-profile, Toronto-based lawyer Clayton Ruby to see if anything can be done through the courts to have Lucy moved.
If the city were to move the animal, Barker said the price would be right for Edmonton taxpayers.
“We’ll take care of everything,” he said. “The taxpayers of Edmonton will be relieved of the cost of Lucy at the zoo and it will not cost them a penny to move her.”
The zoo has moved an elephant before. Lucy’s companion Samantha, an African elephant, lived at the Edmonton zoo until September 2007 when she was shipped to a breeding program in Asheboro, N.C., leaving Lucy on her own.
