Edmonton Valley Zoo Lucy The Solitary Elephant

snowleopard said:
Another article about Lucy the elephant, and it will be interesting to see if she is moved before the winter months arrrive.

The Canadian Press: Debate rages over the fate of Lucy the elephant at Edmonton's zoo
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It seems there is no debate. In my book that term would be used for an exchange of views and thoughts whereby people of various persuasions sit in a room together and discuss a given subject -.

In this particular case - as is in all cases where Zoo Check or PETA are involved - there is never a direct exchange between individuals. The courtesy stops at writing a proverbial and rather predictable letter and the scoffing in the media re perceived welfare concerns.

This is not what I call a healthy debate. :mad:

(I write this in response to the press release, and it should not be taken as my viewpoint on the issue per se, rather underlining some of the major flaws in approaching any subject related to animal welfare by activism). :cool:
 
A healthy debate is not possible with this zoo, it is not just Peta & co who are to blame for that. Thankfully many people want her being moved and thankfully the newspaper report about this.
 
It's just a very small group that want her to move. City TV in Edmonton did a pull on their web site and it showed the 92% of the people think Lucy should stay in Edmonton. Most of the people here knows how Lucy is being treated and think she is doing great. Ya she is the only Elephant but I think of it this way, I have 1 dog he hates other dogs and I can't take him out to the off lease parks with out him getting into fights or socialize with other Dog, now do i have give my dog away after spending 8 year with him? "that might not be fair to me dog being the only dog in my house"
Lucy have her bonds with her Zoo and her keepers, She is very well keep en care of and enjoys it there. I would think it would be very unfair if they move her and take that all way.

Zoo Check have no power or say on anything, they like to think they can make rules for zoos and how they are run but really they are just another group that try's to act like they can do something.

People wanting her move is only seeing a couple of peoples view and not getting all the facts. It's like they watch a movie and believe everything in that movie is true from fact and the actor are the real people. They are not coming down to the zoo to see for them self's on how she is before jumping on a band wagon to have her moved.

Critterbug said "Thirty of the 78 zoos and wild animal parks that have elephants in North America have only one or two " Why don't people get on CAZA and the Taxon Advisory Group to Enforce this rule? They are the group that have the power to get elephants moved. When they target one zoo to get them moved it hurts the zoo and other animals in that zoo with funding. More progress well be made if you target the people with the power to do something.
 
But dogs don't naturally have to be together, elephants do (well, the females anyways)

Alaska Zoo tried the same **** story and look how Maggie is doing now? Amazing!
 
Calgary Zoo weighs in on lucy debate

Lucy can either stay at the Valley Zoo in freezing cold Edmonton and remain in her tiny barn for 75% of her life....OR she can be moved (without any expenses for the Valley Zoo) into a 30-acre enclosure in sunny California that has 4 other Asian elephants in it. Tough choice.;)
 
Incredible....

I find it pretty amazing the excuses that are made to prevent Lucy from being moved to another location. Yes- there are stressors such as travel/health issues, but "solitary confinement" from her species/her small pen/Edmonton's winters can easily be lumped into "stressors" as well. At least the stress that would come from a move to California are only temporary vs. long-term if she were to stay in Edmonton.

I am also in shock that the rep from Calgary Zoo would use the prescence of other elephants an excuse NOT to move Lucy. Yes group introductions can be stressful- and I can't argue that they're not to a certain degree dangerous- but if it turns out well then the benefits are HUGE. I don't doubt the bond between Lucy and her keepers- but really; can you expect a HUMAN to fill all the psychological needs of an animal that's so intelligent? She needs to be with her own species. In addition- who are we to say what's best for Lucy in terms of a group situation? She may be subordinate/bottom of the totem pole if she's moved out there- but that has to be better than being alone right? Almost ALL social animals have some form of social heiarchy and there's always one at the bottom- meaning they'd rather put up with a bit of drama as opposed to going off on their own (not sure if that made any sense...haha)

Anyways sorry for the long post- taking a break from studying and had this on my chest for awhile :o
 
@ arcticfox-

I just want to comment that I don't think City TV's poll is an accurate representation of what people think on Lucy's situation- only because I have to assume that most of the people whom responded were Edmontonians :p (I can't think of any controversies at the Toronto Zoo now- but I'm sure if you polled Toronto; most of the people would support the TZ and go against what most people on this forum would say!)

Also- while I can't say I've seen Lucy in her environment- I still think there are "bottom-liners" that wouldn't change even if I took a personal trip to see her; such as 1) she is by nature a social HERD animal who is ALONE. The fact that she's existed peacefully (to my knowledge) with her enclosure mate Samantha for >15 years in my opinion only serves to strengthen that view...although I DO agree it sucks that Edmonton's being singled out for a problem that's not solely restricted to them (so no hard feelings- just some friendly discussion/comments :))
 
Has Lucy ever lived in a group of other Elephants? If not, is it reasonable to assume she may not cope with such a move after so long alone, and that her current life is perhaps better for her?
 
She did as a baby, and then she lived with another elephant at Edmonton for a few years

The thing is, Maggie the elephant from Alaska only had contact with another elephant for a little while. And now look how she's doing!
 
Wow a lawsuit....I don't know how I feel about that :S On one end it's good for Lucy I guess (if they win)- but at the same time the grounds they're charging on I'm sure would be applicable to a lot of other animals too- I just hope it doesn't open up a floodgate where the zoo is slowly emptied out of animals one by one...?
 
Lucy the elephant must lose 1,000 pounds, Edmonton zoo says

Now the Valley Zoo has come out and announced two things: there will be more sand added to the inside area of the enclosure (where Lucy spends up to 80% of her life) and she has to lose 1,000 pounds in the next year. It looks like freezing cold Edmonton will still have its solitary female elephant for at least the next little while, unless a lawsuit speeds the process of moving her somewhere that is warm and actually has other elephants.
 
CritterBlog said:
She may receive the best of care but she needs to be with other elephants. End of discussion.
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1. that may be not so realistic for reasons both animal welfare, social and logistics.
2. you are not discussing :p which is all that this thread is all about.
 
I've always thought, if you aren't going to look after an animal properly, and make no real effort in improving their lives, that you shouldn't have them. Doesn't matter to me if the if the animal is a rat or an elephant.
 
A website devoted to the solitary elephant and the case to remove her from the frozen north of Canada. I lived in Edmonton for 10 years and so I can easily understand the many claims that the Asian elephant Lucy spends at least 75% of her life locked in her tiny barn:

SaveLucy.ca
 
Lucy the Asian elephant might not ever leave Edmonton, as once again it appears that those wanting her to exit have failed in the eyes of the court system. Her respiratory condition is a concern, and on the link below there is an interesting 6-minute video (click on the word "video" in the article) that shows the steps the zoo has done to make her life easier. Calgary has a noticeably warmer climate than Edmonton, yet the zoo there recently announced plans to send its elephants away to other AZA-accredited institutions. Edmonton has at least 5 months of the year where the temperature hovers around freezing and yet it seems that the Valley Zoo's solitary elephant will remain at the establishment for quite some time to come.

Global Edmonton | UPDATE: Zoo Check and City react to Lucy decision
 
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