EDMONTON — Retired game show host Bob Barker is stepping up his campaign to get Lucy the elephant moved from the Edmonton zoo to a sanctuary in the United States.
Barker was flanked by veterinarians and animal rights activists at a news conference in Edmonton as he laid out a long list of reasons why Lucy would be better with other elephants.
Officials at the city-owned zoo are adamant that Lucy is just fine in her present location and earlier this week they released a report suggesting that a move would endanger her life.
An elephant expert from the U.S. examined Lucy and issued a letter saying that her current breathing problems mean that the stress of a move could kill her.
Barker and his experts question the findings of the expert hired by the Edmonton zoo, which refuses to allow other veterinarians to examine Lucy.
Barker has been invited to meet Lucy, but has complained that some of the experts he brought to Edmonton from as far away as Kenya would not be allowed to join him.