Veterinarian urges elephant be moved out of city zoo,
Animal activist says Lucy has health problems
July 18, 2009
Florence Loyie, Edmonton Journal
Edmonton veterinarian
Debi Zimmermann says she never gave much thought to the debate over the Valley
Zoo's elephant until television show host and animal rights activist Bob Barker
threw his support behind a group that wants see to Lucy moved to a sanctuary.
After listening to Barker's arguments about why Lucy should be moved, Zimmermann
decided to research the elephant's living conditions and health problems.
She joined the debate this week with her own 65-page report, which she hopes
will clarify the issues surrounding Lucy's health, and the calls to move to her
a warmer climate with other elephants.
Her report examines Valley Zoo's reasons for not moving Lucy and provides her
analysis of the elephant's health problems, based on a 200-page medical file
obtained by Zoocheck Canada under Freedom of Information legislation, a
comprehensive review of elephant science, discussions with various experts and a
review of Alberta's standards for zoos.
The report can be found on Zoocheck Canada's website.
"The zoo would have the public believe that Lucy's health and well-being is
their primary concern, and all decisions are made with that in mind," Zimmermann
said this week at the release of her report.
"I contend that Lucy's best interests are not the primary focus of her "owners,"
as evidenced by their downplaying of Lucy's multiple and serious health issues
(and) their refusal to acknowledge that her social and physical environment is
extremely poor...."
Zimmermann, who sold her Terwilliger Veterinary Clinic last fall to focus on
animal advocacy, said she has concluded the only ethical and humane thing city
council and zoo officials can do is allow outside experts to assess Lucy's
health. If she is found too sick to move, council and city administration have a
moral obligation to provide Lucy the best expertise and treatment available.
When she is deemed healthy enough to travel, Edmonton must let her go so she can
live out her remaining years in a more appropriate place.
Dean Treichel, supervisor of animal care and operations at the Valley Zoo, said
Zimmermann's report is "the continued repetition of the inaccurate claims
Zoocheck has made in the past; it is just a different person saying it now, that
is all. Again, it is someone who has had no intimate interaction with our
elephant; has never done anything with this elephant, but professes to know
everything there is to know about this elephant."
Zoocheck Canada has urged the city to order an independent, expert assessment of
Lucy's ability to travel, and to accept invitations to move her to the PAWS
elephant sanctuary in California or the Tennessee Elephant Sanctuary.
Earlier this year, Barker joined the campaign, and along with Zoocheck offered
to fly experts in elephant medicine to Edmonton at no charge to assess Lucy. The
offer was declined.
Zimmermann said elephants are self-aware and highly intelligent. While there is
no doubt Lucy's handlers love and care for her, humans are inadequate
substitutes for the company of other elephants.
"With the life expectancy of zoo elephants around 38 years, and her chronic
health issues exacerbated on a daily basis by inadequate conditions at the zoo,
in all likelihood Lucy will not survive too much longer if she stays in
Edmonton," Zimmermann said.
"Should Lucy perish here, while the zoo continues to violate regulations, refuse
outside expertise, and dismiss the mounting concerns of the public, Edmontonians
will never forgive them."
Zimmermann said she hopes to present her report to city council for public
debate, but so far has not found anyone on council willing to meet with her.
|
