Rock icon and animal advocate Joan Jett's version of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" topped the charts, but one thing Joan doesn't love is the Edmonton Valley Zoo's refusal to release its lone elephant, Lucy, to a sanctuary. Ahead of her performance in Alberta on Saturday, Joan sent a letter to Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel and the zoo's director, Denise Prefontaine, reminding them that every moment that Lucy remains in Edmonton is a misery. Joan writes, "This animal is basically being tortured. I urge you to please release Lucy to a sanctuary before the unbearably cold Canadian winter weather returns this year."

Edmonton officials should follow the lead of their colleagues in Toronto, who overwhelmingly voted by a 31-4 majority to send the zoo's three elephants to sanctuary.

Elephant experts agree that if elephants are not with others of their kind, these highly intelligent and social animals experience psychological distress, and Lucy has been the only elephant at the Edmonton Valley Zoo for more than four years. The cold climate and confinement to a small barn have also contributed to Lucy's poor health. She suffers from arthritis, obesity, chronic foot ailments, and respiratory problems, all of which would likely improve if she were able to join other elephants at a sanctuary with a more appropriate climate and miles of open space to roam.

Please join Joan, Bob Barker, William Shatner, George Laraque, PETA, Zoocheck, and the thousands of compassionate Canadians who are campaigning for Lucy's freedom by clicking here to contact Mayor Mandel and the Edmonton City Council right now.

Written by Heather Faraid Drennan

Toka, Thika, and Iringa—the three elephants at the Toronto Zoo—will soon be on their way to paradise. By a vote of 31 to 4, the Toronto City Council overwhelmingly agreed that California's Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) sanctuary is a much more appropriate home for these elephants. Earlier, there had been a push to send the three to another zoo.

 
© Digital Vision | Just Elephants | Getty Images

PETA and our colleagues at Zoocheck Canada kept up the pressure, writing to councilmembers and mobilizing Canadians to make their opinions known. Now, these three elephants will know the joys of roaming freely, swimming in ponds, taking dust baths, and socializing with other elephants. PAWS has a history of healing and restoring quality of life to elephants who have become debilitated from years in captivity.

TV icon and animal defender Bob Barker has offered to pay for the elephants' relocation to the sanctuary at a cost estimated to be between $100,000 and $300,000.

As an unrelated bonus, the City Council received a standing ovation when it also voted to ban the possession, sale, and consumption of shark fins, with hefty fines for violators.

Now, it's Lucy's turn. Please click here to ask Edmonton officials to follow their Toronto colleagues' lead and send this ailing and lonely elephant to PAWS, and click here to urge the Toronto Zoo and City Council to send Iringa, Toka, and Thika to the sanctuary without delay.

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

As we reported last week, the Alberta government has finally revoked the license of Guzoo—Canada's most notorious roadside zoo—after years of campaigning by our colleagues at Zoocheck Canada and caring Alberta residents. 

The bad news is that many of the animals, including camels, reptiles, birds, and dogs, are not "covered" under the zoo permit and may be left behind when the other animals are relocated. Bob Barker has already expressed his concern for these animals, and you can too.
 

 
Alberta officials are determining their course of action based on public input, so you can help by thanking the Alberta Legislature for closing Guzoo and asking that all the animals living in squalor at this wretched facility be removed, not just those regulated under the Wildlife Act. Please also sign and share an Alberta group's petition as well as this petition at PetitionOnline.com. 
  

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

 
After years of campaigning by PETA, Zoocheck Canada, and local residents, provincial authorities in Alberta, Canada, have finally ordered a decrepit roadside menagerie called Guzoo Animal Farm to close its doors.
 

 
Numerous reports have documented that hundreds of animals—including tigers, cougars, dogs, a lynx, and a baboon—were living in feces-filled cages and cramped pens, denied adequate food, water, and shelter from the elements. "Grossly substandard and filthy," wrote a Calgary zookeeper in one report. "A disgrace to the people of Alberta and those who care about animals," said a retired Toronto zookeeper in another. In 2007, a report documented more than 100 violations of the already minimal provincial standards for zoos.

Animals in other decrepit roadside zoos still need your help—animals like Ben the bear and others at the Jambbas Ranch in North Carolina. Please ask officials to follow Alberta's lead and shut down the menagerie for good.

 
Written by Jennifer O'Connor

Backing up his beliefs with bucks, animal activist Bob Barker has offered the City of Edmonton $100,000—to use however it wants—if it will allow independent elephant experts to assess Lucy, the sick and depressed elephant at the Edmonton Valley Zoo. 

e_tavares/cc by 2.0

Lucy has trouble breathing because of an undiagnosed ailment. She also suffers from arthritis and chronic foot problems—the leading causes of death in captive elephants. Once Lucy is diagnosed and treated, the zoo will have no excuses left to avoid moving her to a sanctuary, where she'd enjoy the company of other elephants and have open, grassy meadows in which to walk, smell the roses, and heal.

Calling his offer a "win-win-win scenario," Bob says, "It's crucial that Lucy's condition be accurately diagnosed before her health deteriorates further. It is indefensible that Lucy has been forced to live in misery for all these years."

In other Lucy news, the appeal of PETA and Zoocheck Canada's lawsuit against the zoo is scheduled to be heard March 29. Watch for updates.

In the meantime, please implore Edmonton officials not to let Lucy become the next Knut.  

Written by Jennifer O'Connor