2nd Annual Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos sponsored by In Defense of Animals was held on Saturday June 19, 2010. Members of Voice for Animals joined this international event by protesting Lucy’s continued captivity at the Valley Zoo. Although we didn’t have a great turn-out, everyone who came out was enthusiastic, engaging the public and handing out literature.
It is clear that our efforts to get Lucy moved to a sanctuary has got the VZ completely rattled. After protesting at the end of Buena Vista Rd., we decided to march through the parking lot up to the front entrance of the Zoo. The zoo must have had look-outs or spies because Dean Treichel (zoo director) met us as soon as we got there. Dean, who is usually Mr. Nice Guy, was almost frothing at the mouth, demanding that we leave immediately. Shaking with anger he let us know that if we didn’t leave immediately he would call the police. We apparently didn’t leave quickly enough because he did call the police who arrived some time later but decided to do nothing.
Because of the beautiful day there were tons of people at the park, off-leash and (unfortunately) the zoo. It was a great opportunity to educate the public about Lucy’s plight, her unacceptable enclosure and poor health and to let them know that sending Lucy to a sanctuary is the right and humane thing to do.