No more examinations for Lucy the elephant, city says

Officials at the EdmontonValley Zoo will not bring in more veterinarians to examine Lucy, their Asian elephant, retired game show host and animal activist Bob Barker was told Thursday afternoon.

"The meeting went badly," Barker told reporters after speaking privately with city and zoo officials."The zoo is absolutely implacable. They won't consider even saying that when Lucy is feeling well that we can take her to the sanctuary."

At anews conference earlier in the day,Barker called for the zoo to bring in more experts to look at Lucy to determine if she can be moved toananimal sanctuary in California run by the Performing Animals Welfare Societyor PAWS.

"We would like to havea panel of veterinarians examine Lucy and see how quickly she could be ready to travel if she couldn't travel right now," Barker told reporters at the news conference.

Earlier this week, city officials said the 34-year-old elephant would not be moved following an examination by American veterinarian James Oosterhuis. Oosterhuis told the city a move could kill Lucy after discovering her nose and trunk were so swollen it was forcing her to breathe through her mouth.

Despite Barker's pleas, the city's decision stands, Edmonton community services general manager Linda Cochrane said.

"We're not about to be brow-beat by one sanctuary and a body of people that say she has to move," she said.

"We don't believe that it's in Lucy's best interest to have her re-examined by a vet that comes with a point of view that says she needs tomove. So we're not going to put Lucy through that and we're not going to have her checked out for something we already know."

Fight may move to courts

Barker vowed the campaign to move Lucy will continue, but there was word Thursday that the battle could be moving to the courts.

Barker said animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals(PETA)has retained lawyer Clayton Ruby, a well-known Toronto lawyer, to represent them. While Ruby confirmedto the Edmonton Journal he had been retained to look atlegal options to get her moved, he would not say who his client was.

The Thursday news conference in Edmonton was the latest step in a campaign by Zoocheck and other animal rights groups to have Lucy moved from the Valley Zoo.

Barker was joined byelephant behaviour expert Joyce Poole, veterinarian Dan Famini joined Barker and PAWS co-founder Ed Stewart.

Zoocheck's Julie Woodyerquestioned thezoo'sdecision to rely onlyon Oosterhuis's opinion.Oosterhuis was the only expert out of 11 who recommended against moving Maggie the elephant from the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, Woodyer said.

Maggie was moved to PAWS in late 2007 where veterinarian Dan Faminisaid she is doing well.