Further proof the city elephant’s celebrity fan base is piling up came Monday in the form of a letter scrawled by the man behind “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.”
“Let me add my voice to the crescendo of voices asking for some relief in the fate of your beloved elephant, Lucy,” the letter from William Shatner reads. “… I humbly ask you to allow Lucy to retire to better circumstances than at the Edmonton Zoo … She’s old, feeble, and many of us know how that feels.”
People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) officials are calling the latest celeb endorsement “thrilling.”
“When celebrities speak up on behalf of animals, you can bet it’s because it’s something that has really touched them,” said PETA spokeswoman Lisa Watne.
Recently, Price is Right-famed retired game show host Bob Barker jumped on the Save Lucy bandwagon, and became the first Hollywood celeb to take on the cause.
Barker and an entourage of elephant experts will arrive in Edmonton next Thursday. He plans to hold a press conference, lunch with city councillors and visit the 33-year-old Asian elephant in the flesh.
A local journalism professor says growing A-list support for Lucy’s proposed move is little more than a ploy for attention.
“The issue needs to be decided on merits. Celebrities sticking their noses in diverts from the real issue. Who cares what William Shatner thinks?” said Grant MacEwan Journalism program head Roy Wood.
