The Lucy the elephant debate was reignited on Family Day, when a group of more than a dozen protesters gathered at the Valley Zoo in an effort to spread their message that Lucy should be moved.
Protesters want the 38-year-old elephant to be taken to a sanctuary before it's too late, and on Monday, blocked traffic going in and out of the zoo's main parking lot.
Protesters carried posters that read ‘Lucy deserves better than you, Edmonton Valley Zoo,’ and ‘Lucy is not too old to move.’
Some chanted, some chained themselves to a tripod apparatus that held another protester up in mid-air above a banner that read ‘Lucy you deserve a 2nd opinion,’ and others blocked vehicles from getting through.
Police responded to the scene Monday afternoon, reminding protesters they weren’t allowed to block traffic.
Protester Faris Anderson said the group wants a second opinion on Lucy's health - and believes she should be moved out of Edmonton.
“This is far too cold of a climate for elephants. She isn’t going to die if she moves, she’s going to die if she stays here,” Anderson said.
“She doesn’t have the room to move, she doesn’t have any friends. It’s like keeping humans in solitary confinement in Siberia.”
Robin Tamboline brought her daughter to the Valley Zoo for the very first time on Monday, and said the Lucy demonstration surprised her.
“It is a little bit overwhelming,” Tamboline said, who said the protest set-up was an inconvenience.
“We came all the way from the north, north side. It was a long drive. I was surprised to see them and I had to park way over there.”
Megan Dean thought Family Day was the perfect opportunity to take her three kids to the zoo.
She said she was disappointed to see the protest.
“I think they shouldn’t be here today. It’s kind of a shame that we have to park all that way down to walk into the zoo to have a Family Day,” Dean said.
Dean works in child care, and says a lot the kids she helps loves coming to the zoo to see Lucy. She believes leaving Lucy at her home, the Valley Zoo, is the right move.
“She seems to be well-maintained here and out and about. I think the zoo knows what they’re doing, they’re experts. I think she’s in good care,” she asid.
Lucy, the aging Asian elephant, has arthritis and other ailments including respiratory problems.
Animal rights groups have for years been calling for Lucy to be moved out of Edmonton and to a warmer U.S. sanctuary, saying her living conditions are poor, the weather is too cold and that the elephant is lonely and in distress.
The ongoing campaign has even had celebrity support from Bob Barker and Georges Laraque, among some names who have said they want to see Lucy moved to a sanctuary.
Zoo officials, along with a veterinary specialist hired by the city to examine Lucy back in 2011, have said that a move would be too stressful and could even be life-threatening for the elephant.
Officials have maintained that Lucy is well-cared for and is content at the zoo and their focus is working with Lucy to improve her health before any move is considered.
"We have brought in independent, third-party people, to assess Lucy's health. We make sure we have all that expertise in place. If there was any advice we needed, we would have gone out and sought it ourselves but we feel we have consulted people that have a specialty that really would help to determine Lucy's situation and make good decisions on her welfare," said Dean Treichel, operations supervisor at the Valley Zoo.
"We have periodic reviews on her health. We just had a review about a month ago. Our veterinarian reviews her health on a daily basis. She's constantly being monitored."
Officials have said Lucy will be the last elephant to be housed at the Valley Zoo.
"Once the situation with Lucy is resolved, we will no longer be in the elephant business. We feel we couldn't afford to build the kind of environment that is required now to meet the current standards within the zoo industry in terms of size, scope and scale," Treichel said.
