Latest News and Announcements

• Sanctuary Song Fundraiser for Elephants (January 19, 2012) Attend the Dora award- winning benefit performance of Theatre Direct's Sanctuary Song on February 11, 2012, 7 pm at the Wychwood Theatre at the Barns, 76 Wychwood Avenue, Toronto. Tickets (regular/$50, patron/$100) are now available from Zoocheck.   Sanctuary Song is inspired by the amazing true story of Sidney, a wild caught Asian elephant and her journey from captivity to freedom in an elephant sanctuary. The music and set are hauntingly beautiful and the story is heartwarming.   This event is to celebrate the decision to relocate Toronto's elephants Toka, Thika,and Iringa to PAWS Sanctuary in California! Proceeds go to assisting captive and wild elephants. Terrific silent auction items will be featured, including tickets to the play ...
  Posted 19 Jan 2012 07:57 by Rob Laidlaw
• IDA Names Valley Zoo Worst for Elephants (Janauary 2012) 2011 Top Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants In Defense Of Animals Releases 2011 "Ten Worst Zoos For Elephants" List. San Rafael, Calif. (January 16, 2012) - The 2011 list of the Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants, released today by In Defense of Animals (IDA), once again exposes the hidden suffering of elephants in zoos, where lack of space, unsuitably cold climates and unnatural conditions condemn Earth’s largest land mammals to lifetimes of deprivation, disease and early death. The list is in its eighth year. A promising trend toward the closure of inadequate elephant displays continued in 2011 and includes zoos that have appeared on IDA's annual list. The most recent are the Central Florida Zoo and the Southwick’s ...
  Posted 19 Jan 2012 07:43 by Rob Laidlaw
• Rocker Joan Jett on Edmonton's Bad Reputation (November 1, 2011) Rock icon and animal advocate Joan Jett's version of "I Love Rock and 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 ...
  Posted 2 Nov 2011 07:05 by Rob Laidlaw
• Toronto Zoo elephants going to PAWS sanctuary in California (October 30, 2011) On October 25, 2011, City of Toronto Council voted 31 to 4 in favour of retiring the Toronto Zoo’s three surviving elephants, Iringa, Toka and Thika, to the PAWS sanctuary in California.   The motion to send the elephants to PAWS was introduced by Councillor Michelle Berardinetti and seconded by Councillor Raymond Cho. Many other Councillors spoke in favour of the motion and they are all to be congratulated.   While the Toronto Zoo had proposed sending the elephants to an American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) accredited facility, Council decided the more appropriate and compassionate choice for the elephants was the PAWS sanctuary.   The move to PAWS has been endorsed by many of the world’s leading elephant experts, including ...
  Posted 1 Nov 2011 12:09 by Rob Laidlaw
• PETA, Zoocheck Appeal Lucy's Case to the Supreme Court (Sept 28, 2011) For Immediate Release:    September 28, 2011 PETA, ZOOCHECK APPEAL LUCY'S CASE TO SUPREME COURT Lone Elephant at Valley Zoo Continues to Suffer From Illness and Climate and Must Be Transferred to a Sanctuary, Say Experts Edmonton, Alberta — This morning, PETA, Zoocheck Canada, and Tove Reece, president of the Edmonton-based Voice for Animals Humane Society, asked the Supreme Court of Canada to allow them to sue the city of Edmonton to transfer Lucy—the lone and ailing Asian elephant at the Valley Zoo—to a warm-weather sanctuary for rehabilitation, where she will also have the company of other elephants. The move follows the recent decision by the Court of Appeal of Alberta to refuse to reinstate the lawsuit ...
  Posted 28 Sep 2011 09:34 by Rob Laidlaw
• No Justice for Lucy - Yet (August 5, 2011) There's no justice for Lucy—yet. Despite what Zoocheck Canada, PETA and Tove Reece of Voice 4 Animals described to an appellate court as blatant violations of Alberta's Animal Protection Act by the Edmonton Valley Zoo the court today refused to give Lucy her day in court. But in a groundbreaking dissenting opinion that takes up 45 pages of the 56-page ruling, Chief Justice Catherine Fraser found that the groups showed "a prima facie case of the City's unlawful conduct vis-à-vis Lucy," and they deserve their day in court.   Lucy has lived for years in what Chief Justice Fraser calls "solitary isolation" at the zoo. She is suffering from severe psychological distress as well ...
  Posted 9 Aug 2011 14:37 by Rob Laidlaw

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