Move elephant to U.S., ex-game show host Bob Barker urges city zoo

Last Updated: Monday, February 23, 2009 | 5:20 PM Lucy, an Asian elephant, has been housed at Edmonton's Valley Zoo for 30
years. (CBC)

Retired game show host Bob Barker has sent a letter to Edmonton City Council
urging the city-owned Valley Zoo to transfer its only elephant, Lucy, to a
sanctuary in the United States.

Zoocheck Canada, an animal welfare organization, brought the case to
Barker's attention.

"Poor Lucy needs all the help we can give her, and that's what I've been
doing," Barker told CBC News on Monday.

Barker, who retired as the host of the television game show Price is Right
in 2007, is well-known for his work as an animal rights advocate.

Lucy has been dealing with several illnesses, including foot infections and
arthritis, according to health records obtained by Zoocheck Canada, an
animal welfare organization.

Barker said he believes the elephant's health problems will get worse in
Edmonton and called on the public to put pressure on the zoo to move the
animal to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

Proponents of the move have argued that the 1,100-hectare site would give
Lucy the chance to regularly interact with other elephants, something she
hasn't been able to do since September 2007, when the zoo's only other
elephant, Samantha, was moved to be part of a breeding program at a zoo in
North Carolina.

Officials at the Valley Zoo, where Lucy has lived for 30 years, have
rebuffed earlier offers to relocate the Asian elephant to Tennessee because
they say a move could aggravate her health problems.

Lucy is currently breathing through her mouth because of a wrongly
positioned molar, said Dean Treichel, operations supervisor at the Valley
Zoo, but veterinarians are waiting to see if the tooth will fall out on its
own.

"Moving her is not an option right now," Treichel said. "Again, this
malpositioned tooth, when we talk to the industry experts, what they're
indicating to us that if you put her in any form of transport, more than
likely you end up killing her."

Lucy has problems with arthritis, which the zoo is managing with exercise
and physiotherapy, Treichel said, but her feet are currently in excellent
condition.

"Bob Barker is a U.S. citizen that is basing his claims against us from
third-party information," Treichel said. "Bob's never contacted us, never
talked to us about it, and [we] kind of wish he would so we could tell him
what the situation truly is."

On Monday, some Edmonton city councillors said they wanted to keep Lucy
where she is.

"Well, I love Lucy," said Coun. Ron Hayter. "I think she's been given
outstanding treatment here in Edmonton, and I think it would be a mistake to
move her at her age ... when she really enjoys it here."

"I admire him and I admire his advocacy," Coun. Linda Sloan said of Barker.
"But I think that all of the components of Lucy's future have to be
considered by council, and it can't be based on the submission of one
letter."

Barker refuted the city's contention that a move would be bad for Lucy's
health.

"It's unlikely that she could not be moved," Barker said. "It might require
a certain amount of treatment and special care to prepare her to be moved,
but we would have people who would go up there and do that."