★★★ LETTERS AND PHONE CALLS FOR LUCY NEEDED ★★★
★ CALL TO ACTION ★ Lucy needs Edmontonians, Albertans, Canadians and people ALL over the world to write letters
and make phone calls for her!
These actions are crucial! The Valley Zoo's permit expires March 31st and Lucy needs you to ask Alberta's Minister of Environment and Parks Shannon Phillips to NOT renew the zoo's permit. The Valley Zoo is in violation of a number of Alberta's provincial zoo standards regarding Lucy and they need to come into compliance.
Please ★ SHARE ★ !
It's important for Lucy's advocates to write letters in your own words. We're listing our talking points here (next to the bullet points), to inform you of the violations and the main points to make in your letters, and hope you will please take the time to write letters. Printed, signed and mailed letters are preferable but emails are fine too, and we'll post the addresses and Minister Phillips' phone and fax numbers below, keep reading!
TALKING POINTS:
● Request that Minister Phillips revoke or not renew the zoo permit for the Edmonton Valley Zoo due to ongoing violations of the Alberta Zoo Standards by the Edmonton Valley Zoo, by keeping an Asian elephant alone.
You can quote from Section III B. 1. of the Alberta Zoo Standards that state:
"All animals must be maintained in numbers sufficient to meet their social and behavioural needs (unless a single specimen is biologically correct for that animal). Exhibit enclosures must be of sufficient size to provide for the physical well being of the animal. All animal exhibits must be of a size and complexity sufficient to provide for the animal's physical and social needs and species typical behaviours and movements. Exhibit enclosures must include provisions (e.g., permanent and/or non-permanent features and structures) that encourage species typical movements and behaviours."
● Edmonton Valley Zoo is keeping Lucy, a female Asian elephant (endangered species) alone. This is a clear violation of the Alberta Zoo Standards. Even the zoo industry does not support keeping elephants, a highly intelligent, social species alone and recommends they should never be housed in groups of less than 3 individuals.
● Lucy's enclosure is too small and does not satisfy her physical or behavioural needs. Elephants have evolved to walk over long distances. Captive elephants, especially those that live in cold climate zoos, develop foot and joint problems because they are not able to walk long distances and are forced to stand on cold, hard substrates. In fact these captivity related ailments are the leading cause of death in zoo elephants. Lucy's medical records clearly show that Lucy suffers from these afflictions.
Section III B. 1. of the Alberta Zoo Standards also state:
"Enclosures must be of sufficient size and design to allow individual animals the opportunity to avoid or withdraw from contact with other animals in the enclosure or remove themselves from the view of visitors, using topography (e.g., large earth mounds, large rocks), fixed features (e.g., fences, walls, screening, shelter boxes), movable fixtures (e.g., brush piles, root balls), or other design methods."
● Lucy's indoor and outdoor enclosures allow her NO opportunity to withdraw from the view of visitors if she so chooses.
Section II. H. of the Alberta Zoo Standards sets safety standards as follows:
"Animals in areas where direct contact with visitors is possible must pose no danger to the public, be comfortable with human contact and under the direct supervision by zoo staff."
● Valley Zoo staff use a bullhook to manage Lucy and walk Lucy around the zoo, often in close proximity to the public. The bullhook is a tool of "discipline", utilized commonly in circuses. The bullhook, or ankus, is a sharp, pointed hook used for prodding and to discourage undesired behavior.
● There are documented incidents where elephants have attacked trainers using bullhooks, causing incredible damage, injury and death. Progressive zoos have moved away from the practice of using bullhooks and the practice of working directly with elephants is being phased out in the USA because keepers have been killed by elephants.
● Despite the zoo's claims that Lucy is too sick to move, her ability to be transferred to another facility (sanctuary or zoo where she can be housed in a better climate with other elephants) has not been fully explored as the zoo has stonewalled any efforts to assist with a thorough, unbiased evaluation.
● CAZA's "Position Statement" on Lucy issued September 28th, 2009 is irrelevant to AEP's duty to uphold Alberta's provincial zoo standards. The Ministry of Environment and Parks' responsibility to uphold zoo standards related to Lucy clearly supercedes the protectionist position taken by the industry organization Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums towards one of its dues-paying member zoos.
● Please add a closing statement requesting that the Government of Alberta revoke (or not renew) the Edmonton Valley Zoo permit until they come into compliance with the Alberta Zoo Standards with respect to Lucy.
MAIL your letters to:
Minister Shannon Phillips
Minister of Environment and Parks &
Minister Responsible for the Status of Women
Legislature Office
208 Legislature Building
10800 - 97 Avenue
Edmonton, AB
Canada T5K 2B6
Or EMAIL letters to Minister Shannon Phillips at:
AEP.Minister@gov.ab.ca
CC them to Premier Rachel Notley at:
premier@gov.ab.ca
CC or BCC Friends of Lucy at:
friendsoflucy@gmail.com
FAX letters to Minister Phillips at: 780-422-6259
PHONE CALLS to Minister Phillips' office: 780-427-2391
For telephone calls and faxes, if calling long distance dial "1" first in Canada and the US. If calling from outside Canada or the US, dial Canada's country code of "001" first from most countries, or visit this link to select your own country from the top down-arrow box and Canada from the bottom down-arrow box:
https://countrycode.org/how-to-call...
When calling Minister Phillips' office, please ask for the name of the person you speak with, and please be polite. The province of Alberta is in the Mountain Standard Time Zone (MST), or UTC/GMT -7 hours for those who need to calculate Alberta's business hours from your own time zones.
Please note that long-distance charges may apply for phone calls and faxes, depending on your calling plan with your phone carrier.
Friends of Lucy is all volunteer and we cannot reimburse any long distance charges incurred.
THANK YOU from all of us at Friends of Lucy! We're hopeful that with the Valley Zoo's provincial zoo permit at stake, the zoo will comply with Alberta's zoo standards and will also agree - at last - to an independent expert health evaluation for Lucy.
