Bob Barker wants zoos to close elephant exhibits

Edmonton's Valley Zoo and the plight of Lucy the elephant is receiving national attention. Bob Barker, former host of The Price is Right, has issued a plea to Edmonton City Council and the zoo to move Lucy to a animal sanctuary.

Canada AM: Bob Barker, animal rights advocate, on why Edmonton's Valley Zoo is falling behind

Former TV personality and animal rights advocate Bob Barker is trying to get Lucy the elephant moved from an Edmonton zoo to a California sanctuary because of her ailing health. He says he became involved after an Edmonton councilor got in touch with him.

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CTV.ca News Staff

Date: Wed. Feb. 25 2009 9:07 AM ET

Retired TV game-show host Bob Barker says Edmonton's Valley Zoo is falling behind the lead of "enlightened zoos" by keeping elephants on display.

"The great zoos...the progressive zoos, the enlightened zoos, have come to terms with the fact that an elephant cannot be healthy and happy in a zoo," Barker told CTV's Canada AM on Wednesday morning.

"And what are they doing about it? They're closing their elephant exhibits."

Barker, a staunch animal rights activist who used to host "The Price is Right," pointed to several major U.S. zoos that have closed down their elephant exhibits.

"There are no elephants on exhibit in Metropolitan New York now, no elephants in the Central Park Zoo, no elephants in the Bronx Zoo -- where they had them for 100 years, they've closed them," he said.

Barker has pushed the Valley Zoo into the spotlight in recent days, by openly questioning the health of Lucy, the only elephant currently on display at the Edmonton facility.

"Up in Edmonton...they want to keep that one poor elephant there," he said. "That's torture for her."

As Barker told CTV Newsnet on Tuesday, he wants to see Lucy moved to a sanctuary where she can "live the life that nature intended."

Dean Treichel, operations supervisor for the Valley Zoo, said Barker's criticisms are based on limited information that has been made available to him.

"Bob is basing some of his information on 200 pages of health records that have been gathered through the Freedom of Information Act, boiled down to about six pages," he told Canada AM.

"So he's making assessments on her health based on a very, very abbreviated look at it."

According to the Valley Zoo website, Lucy has been in Edmonton for more than 30 years. She is currently suffering from a respiratory problem that zoo staff believe is related to a mal-positioned molar that is affecting her sinus area.

This molar, Treichel told Canada AM, "should eventually fall out and not be an issue anymore."

The Edmonton elephant has also suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for some time, though the zoo website says "the situation is being successfully managed through treatments that relieve Lucy's symptoms."

Treichel said he wasn't sure about Barker's suggestion that "enlightened" zoos had stopped showing elephants for purely altruistic reasons.

"A lot of those zoos got out of elephants, not because they were enlightened, (but) because they thought it might be better to put them into larger breeding programs," he said.

On Wednesday, Barker said he believes that children can learn about elephants such as Lucy without seeing them in person.

"Children know all about dinosaurs, don't they?" he said.

"They know all about dinosaurs. They have never seen one, but they know all about them."

Comments are now closed for this story

Allan (Vancouver)
said

With all of our modern technology, you'd think they'd be able to come up with an elephant enclosure could, while not actually being, simulate the natural habitat of elephants. The old type of zoo is no longer valid in today's world. In warmer climates, outdoor wild animal parks are possible. In colder climates though, there has to be some new thinking come into play.

Lorraine
said

I firmly agree that elephants should not be held in captivity, but what about ALL animals? And why is Barker ONLY picking on the Edmonton Zoo? I think it's great that this issue has raised publicity, but more attention should be placed on ALL the animals rather than a select few. As well, ALL zoos should be put in the spotlight, not just the Edmonton Zoo.

J.C.
said

One cannot compare animals in a zoo with those in the wild as most animals in a zoo were born there. They know no other way of life. I have visited the Toronto Zoo many times over the years. They have expanded and moved to larger areas and expanded their areas for animals as well. If the animals in the zoos were set free they would all die as they do not know how to survive on their own. That would be cruel! Animals are man's companion but man has been taking their land for centuries without any respect for them or their well being.
The only fault that I can see with this particular elephant is that she lacks animal companionship. The zoo might be wise to expand her facilities and get a few more from other zoos to give her the animal companionship she so deserves. If all the zoo elephants were sent to Tennesee reserves, there would soon be not enough room for them there. It is proven that the lifetime of an animal is greatly increased while in captivity. Do you think that they would survive longer in captivity if they were as unhappy as many here surmize?? No they would not. They would die from being so unhappy. They would be so depressed that their immune system would likely break down. The majority of zoos today are not the zoos of yesterday!!! If you by the way go to the Toronto Zoo be prepared for a LONG WALK, or take their rides to some areas and walk some of the areas. It is still a LONG WALK. The animals seem quite happy to me, and I am an animal Lover!!!

Peter in Edmonton
said

"Bill (Ashern, MB)
If zoo=animal cruelty, then does poaching=natural selection?...think about it people;animals provide a way of life for many people.
Animals were put on this earth for us to enjoy, be it in the zoo or on the dinner plate! "

Oh don't start with the bible stuff already. They weren't put on Earth for us any more than women were put on Earth as property or we have the God-given right to kill our children if they disobey. Please come down to Earth. Thx.

Stop the zoos. We don't need 'em. They serve zero purpose - Children do not learn a thing about an animal by watching it caged. Yes the people who care for these animals are skilled and caring and they do the best they can but it's fundimentally wrong and we all know it.

Sahib Reginawale
said

In India they have elephants chained and paraded in the streets. I remember when I was a kid I touched one's tail. The bugger hit me with his leg and up I went flying, never to touch a tail again whether an elephants or a donkeys.

Jay from Ontario
said

This isn't news! Why aren't everyones opinions on the front page! Just because he has money and hosted a game show doen't make his opion any better or worse than everyone elses. Now lets report on the news and not celebs opinions!!!

Marchois
said

I worked12years with the Calgary Zoo. The care the elephants rec'd was excellent with full time dedicated keepers. Having said that, however, I do not approve of large animals being kept in zoos. This includes giraffes, polar bears, etc.

Re a comment on zoos are better than circuses. Only sometimes...circus animals usually recive much more stimulus than those in zoos. Stress, in mild doses, is not a bad thing.

Karen
said

The Tennessee Sanctuary are experts in elephants and their transport, let them decide whether she is fit to move. Don't leave the decision to people who may lose their jobs or their profits if she goes. It's an insult to say she's better off in solitary confinement than in the wild because she is fed and medicated - are we better off in jail than in the free world? Bob Barker has it right speaking up for the innocent. This story is tragic, let Lucy live what's left of her life in a sanctuary.

all the same
said

The Edmonton zoo is no different than any other zoo, my family and I visited the "World Famous San Diego Zoo" last April and their Polar Bears they had their looked just as chronically depressed as the ones in our zoos. I agree it isn't natural for an animal to be caged and left on display for people to awe over and take pictures of, the animals in zoos are very well cared for (that I have seen) and do have people that love them as if they were family...I doubt a few people's opinion of animal life in zoos will change something that has been going on for years and years...

Bill (Ashern, MB)
said

If zoo=animal cruelty, then does poaching=natural selection?...think about it people;animals provide a way of life for many people.
Animals were put on this earth for us to enjoy, be it in the zoo or on the dinner plate!

kate
said

perhaps Bob Barker should write to the Chinese government and ask it why it keeps destroying the pandas habitat - I dare him to! In fact they now want to build a high speed rail right through the remaining panda habitat which will in fact be the death gnoll for what few are left of them. Zoos today have come a long way from when he was a boy and in fact if not for them, most of these endangered species would be non existant due to humans destroying them and their land.

dghjlfygjkgla
said

When Barker says "Elephants cannot be happy in a zoo and the better run zoos have taken them off display", he's actually saying that from an extremely educated viewpoint. Elephants are nearly as intelligent as dolphins and not far away from apes. For example, elephants pass the mirror test; your pet dog or cat cannot pass the mirror test. The fact is that elephants are intelligent enough to understand that they've been enslaved and they don't generally have a disposition that finds this anything other than depressing. Some animals - like tigers for example - understand that they're in a cage, but they don't understand the master/slave relationship the way that elephants and dolphins do.

Cara H
said

Those of you trying to compare animals and their "suffering" to humans, or saying that animals shouldn't be "jailed" need to get their heads looked at.

Humans are superior to other animals - if it was the other way around, some other creature would be the one with a civilization and we'd be in some cage, and they'd be eating us for dinner instead of humans eating other animals. Whether you subscribe to Darwin's evolution theory or literally believe in the Bible, the simple fact is that humans are superior to other animals in every way.

Shelley
said

Don't kid yourself Dave, elephants do not belong in, nor do the "enjoy" snow. Have you noticed what their habitat is in Africa and India? Lucy may be a "part of the Edmonton mosaic" that is right for YOU, but she is definatly not a part of the Edmonton mosaic that is right for HER.

Sean
said

Far worse than elephants in zoos is elephants in carnivals, which is STILL DONE.

I was at the Markham Fair last year, and there I saw an elephant, tied up, being forced to walk in 10 foot diameter circles while kids rode him for $5 a pop. I thought I had gone back in time 80 years, to the golden age of animal exploitation.

The "elephant handler" was some carny kid that looked to be between 16 and 20 years old.. oh, but I'm sure he has a thorough background and education suitable for handling elephants.

At least zoos have staff and finances dedicated to keeping the animals healthy. I have to say, though, that zoos are not always champions of animal rights.. they are still for-profit organizations using animals as entertainment.

Mary Ellen Skinner
said

So I've already commented on this story and still feel the need to say more. To answer Mr. or Mrs. Duck's question - we need to question how we treat animals because they do not have a voice of their own. To Michel from Ottawa - the enclosures are so convincingly real to whom? To us? Or to the elephants? Because I can pretty much gaurantee that these trumped up enclosures are not fooling the poor animals that are stuck there for most, if not all of their lives. And, 'anti-fur' wing-nuts? Do you not research items thoroughly before you comment on them? Just fyi - today there are dogs being skinned alive on the streets of China, and fur farms still exits, where animals are inhumanly kept in inadequate cages, often piled on top of one another, then have their heads bashed against the ground repeatedly until they are stunned enough, so that they can be skinned (most are often still alive during the skinning process, and I have even seen footage of minks who still struggle for freedom once they are completely skinned) - it's sick and you should be ashamed of yourself for mocking those that are fighting against this. And Ed L, it does not reassure me in anyway to know that you and your friends decided that you would rather live in a zoo than in your natural habitat - I'm sure that if the animals could speak our language they would adamently disagree with you - and laugh at such obvious absurdity.

Jay
said

Ok...so you are all saying Zoos are bad and that the animals should be free. Then how about all of you pet owners, yes the ones with Dogs, Cats, Fish, or any other kind of pet. Let your animal run free. They were once "wild" animals as well.

I find it funny that people critize the zoos, and yet will go home to their own pet. Get a grip people....

Get rid of ALL zoos
said

I don't believe in zoos or circuses. I've been to both and felt terribly sad and decided at that point that when I grew up I would never take my children to either, and I haven't. We don't swim with the dolphins on vacation either. Don't tell me that if it weren't for zoos people wouldn't be interested in animals.

Brenda C
said

As usual there are two sides to every story.
One I agree that animals are not for our entertainment but if the animal can not survive in its natural environment Zoos or Animal Parks with proper living areas for them are great if they have the properly trained personal to look after them.
On the other side of the coin I haven't seen a caged area in any zoo or animal park that really gives the animals lots of room to roam like they would in the wild. I have seen some parks where the animals have lots of room and you must stay in your vehicle with the window closed as you slowly make your way through the area -- these parks have hundreds of acres of land available to the animals and are maintained as if they were out in their natural habitat. This also helps with keeping animals from becoming extinct.
Yes children know about dinosaurs, etc but the excitement and wonder when they see elephants or any other animal for the first time is a sight to behold.
Before Bob Barker or any other celeb speaks maybe they should check things out in person for themselves and get the right facts.
Bob is a wonderful person and has done a lot for the protection of animals and animal rights and more people should be involved but do so in a respectful and informed way.
by the way no animal should be left to their own company and need the company of their own kind. Would you like to be caged up by yourself with no other human to talk, play, interact with??????

David Dods
said

LOL ... all the fuss over animals! Think we humans have bigger problems to worry about ... the environment, economy, starving humans, medical care for humans ...

Anne
said

I couldn't care less about what Bob Barker has to say. I'll listen to an animal expert/scientist - but not some aging retired game show host.

lulu
said

Although I am not a big fan of zoos, animals in captivity, etc, I do wish that Bob Barker would get down off his high horse and turn his attentions to all the starving, homeless children in the US that Brad and Angie refuse to adopt. You know - important stuff.

Roger T
said

All the people who are complaining over an elephant should perhaps think twice about having a pet Dog or cat. It's no different when cats/dogs are bought from the store which are caged for Human entertainment. if you really care about animals, STOP buying dogs/cats/fishes/reptiles or any animals that exist in the pet store (notice the word PET STORES = CAGES).

Liberty to all creatures man and animals.

Dave
said

Lucy Is an elephant that is a part of the edmonton mosaic. She regularly is walked through the river valley and I have personally seen her enjoying the snow here and the friends that she has made over 30 years.

Bob should simply go back to his plush malibu mansion and crawl back under the silk sheet where he came from.

Kelly
said

Next we won't be able to have pets or horses. It's mean to ride a horse, do they really WANT a saddle on their backs and a bit in their mouths? And dogs - well they should be able to defecate where they like and if they attack someone, it's just their instinct.....
Let's face it - zoo's generate revenue and money is what makes this world go round! Get Lucy a friend and find a new "cause".

Sean in Eastern Ont
said

Mandosa,

Bob Barker wants Lucy to be sent to a sanctuary (not in the wild). There she can be with other elephants and not be in any danger. I'm not a big animals rights person but I do believe this isn't healthy for any animal to live in these conditions.

Doug BC
said

"these animals had freedom once and able to live their lives in the wild"
Well,that was then.This is now.People today would have no interest in animals if it hadn't been for having access to them.And zoos do a lot to give people the kind of access that tweaks their interst.
How many species would be extinct today if it wasn't for the intervention of people who cared? If we simply let nature take it's course,the overpopulation of this planet by man would see no wild animals left almost anywhere.Leaving all of them to fend for themselves in the wild would be a death sentence for the entire species.Their habitat is over run by man,and the same "old days" mentality some wnat for the animals still sees people hunting them to the brink of extinction by people who are fighting for survival themselves.
Zoos aren't the magic solution here.But they do a lot of good.They do need to be high quality facilities and closely monitored.But they have a valuable role to play.
In the days when all animals roamed freely all over the place,man also ran freely,and killed these animal for his,or his families benefit.In the wild most of these elephants would have been slaughtered a long time ago just so someone could build a piano or some jewelery.
As long as we keep some of them alive,even if it is in a zoo,they will be free again after the human species is gone.

zoo = prison for animals
said

These animals have done nothing to end up in a prison.

How would you like to live in a prison just to satisfy someone curiousity?

Shameful for us to create the prisons! If you have deep appreciation for animals you would close all these zoos and set them free.

Kimberly from Toronto
said

Zoos also conserve animals and breed animals that would otherwise be extinct in the wild. Let's not forget the good they do as well.

CYL
said

Man is the most cruel on the planet. I have never visited a zoo nor do I enjoy circus because I think it's animal cruelty. Animals should be in their natural environments, NOT caged or confined for money and human entertainment. Elephants have more sense than any of us humans on the planet and the thought of this elephant upsets me. THIS IS ANIMAL CRUELTY.

K
said

OK>>Is Bob B a veterinarian, or a qualified Zoo keeper??>>I don't think so...Elephants and all other species of animals have been in Zoos for years..They are in the Zoo for a reason, maybe they were orphaned, come on people....do we not have something better to do with our time.....

Scott
said

Animal jails! All animals should be left in the wild and protected. My last vist to the Toronto zoo 11 years ago was so depressing. Seeing caged animals made me think how selfish people are! Protect them YES. Cage them NO.

Krystal Rushton Nova Scotia Canada
said

No matter who you are or what your beliefs you cannot honestly tell my that "God", or whichever higher power you believe in, really put animals here on this Earth just to do "Our Bidding!!" Animals have just as much right if not more than any of us to be free and to live their lives happy, healthy and in their natural habitat without being taken and relocated to a place with metal bars a concrete floor in most cases, and put on display like something for our amusement.
As a Nova Scotian, pure Canadian and animal lover at heart, I agree that Lucy should be sent to a sanctuary where she can live out the rest of her life with others like her. I have never been to the Vally zoo, but have been to two in Ontario,and I am not fully saying that the Vally Zoo is a despicable place and should be criticized for all that has been done but in the end a zoo is no place for an elephant, especially a single elephant, no matter how much is done to make her feel, physically and mentally, better.
I hope that all zoos consider the hearts of the elephants in their care, and give them back what is their right. Even in this smallest measure.
"Hannah's Dream" by. Diane Hammond, is a wonderful book, it shows that no matter what a trainer and/or keeper do to help the animals in their care happy and healthy, they still long for something better. I suggest to everyone, read this book no matter how you feel on this issue...it is very moving.

Wayne
said

Animals in general, and elephants in particular need space to roam and to socialize. A zoo is no place for wild animals.

under the overpass
said

Hey Bob, Lucy the elephant gets as good a care as the US will give her. At least it is in a permanent place and not shipped in a truck from city to city as the circuses do. I was at the Mall here in Sydney N.S. on the weekend. In one of the vacant stores, there was a Reptile exibit. I actually got to pet a 130 lb Alligator (i just had to touch it). However he was on a carpeted floor in the middle of a shopping mall. After being touched and petted (mauled) by a great number of adults and children he was taken back to his 10ft x 10ft cage (in the mall). It just seemed wrong. I thought,shouldn't he be waiting in a watering hole waiting to kill a Wildebeest or something.

Mik L
said

I generally ignore these animal-rights PETA extremist types who equate animals with humans.

Barker should also know that one of the top zoos in the United States, the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC, is currently building a huge NEW elephant exhibit, which will allow their elephants to roam freely over a wide space. Why didn't Barker mention this zoo when he listed "major zoos" without elephants?

Gail (Hamilton)
said

I can understand Bob Barker's concern. In the wild, elephants have relatives and families. They mourn their dead. One elephant alone and denied a closeness to her species must be torture. Even circus elephants have been allowed to live out their lives in a sanctuary and so should Lucy.

Ed L
said

I've been "on safari" in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. Not those nice, comfortable luxury facilities, but carrying all our own supplies, including water, and setting up our own personal tents, after looking around and making sure there were no predators nearby. I saw a lot of wild animals close up, struggling to survive in nature, finding food and water, fighting disease and parasites and sometimes watching helplessly as their child was ripped apart before their eyes by lions. As well as a lion destined to die of starvation because its jaw had been broken when the wildebeest it had been chasing kicked it.

While we humans were awed by the spectacles, quite frankly, we agreed that, if we had been the animals, we would much rather have lived in a modern zoo, with an ample supply of nourishment and safety. Just as almost all of us humans have chosen to no longer live in the supposed freedom of the wild.

I Love Lucy!
said

But no money from Barker.Well, they have said moving her would kill her, is that what he wants

Phillip
said

Great, let's close down all the zoos.

And send the animals back to their "natural" habitat to be shot be either shot by some poacher or die of starvation as their only source of food is destroyed to make way for progress.

Eileen25
said

Right on Brenda. My thoughts exactly!

Zoo=animal slavery

Michel (Ottawa)
said

I don't know, modern zoos are not the 20 x 20 cages of the past. Look at Toronto's zoo. The enclosures are so convincingly real compared to actual wild habitats. Given humankind's track record at obliterating species in the wild, zoos may be the only solution to saving certain gene pools to ensure the species live on. With all of this said, I do not want to see zoos disappear. Barker's rant is similar to those from anti-fur wingnuts. They seem base their rants on methods and techniques that have not been used for years. Support zoos and protect species from total extinction.

Red X
said

It is probably TOO cold for Lucy the Elephant to stay at the Edmonton Valley Zoo.

Barker is simply using his celebrity to draw attention to this animal.

Christine in SK
said

I agree with so many others' sentiments here. Wild animals belong in their habitat in the wilderness. Free. Poor Lucy.

Kee-lo
said

Wild elephants have a roaming area of THOUSANDS OF ACRES. Who are we to confine them, for their whole lives to pens the size of a backyard? It's just not right. It's comparable to being in a jail cell for doing nothing wrong.

Mike
said

Lucy lives alone at the zoo, however elepants in the wild especially females, spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts elephants are pack animals, keeping her caged up and alone with a few human handlers is cruelty, no doubt about it. Imagine living 70 to 80 years in solitary confinement for no real good reason, other than to entertain ignorance, that is what lucies life has become.

Tracye
said

Here's the big picture - most zoos (as in Edmonton and Calgary) do NOT have the room adequate enough to house 1 elephant, let alone several. The major problem at Edmonton Valley Zoo is that Lucy is ALONE. Elephants are social intelligent creatures who exist in the wild in Families - the females have a matriarch (most senior female) and then daughters/sisters etc. Some of these groups can total 30 or more females (as at the Amboseli Park in Kenya)- Edmonton Valley is claiming that Lucy is too ill to ship - they really fear losing her and the money she generates for their zoo. I say - stop being nits and send her to the elephant Sanctuary in Tenneesee - they have almost 3,000 acres for her to roam. Let her and every other captive elephant (as well as cruel circuses) actually live their lives in a more natural environment.

tim
said

Zoos are a wonderful place to view animals... put yourself in the animals place for a minute... would be like being in prison no? If we were indeed enlightened, there would be no zoos anywhere. Zoo is just another word for animal prison.

janice
said

i find it very curious that so many people are offended by someone trying to defend the innocent. the toronto zoo was the last zoo i've been to and that was 20 years ago. i was overcome by such great sorrow that i spent the day in tears. my kids who are now grown remember it as the saddest thing they ever saw and will never take their children to the zoo. when are we humans going to evolve enough to not enjoy being spectators to other species suffering?

duck
said

If we only put as much emphasis on how we treat humans the world would be a better place.
Bob Barker should stay in his plush home and but out.

Rob
said

I love zoos... it it weren't for zoos I wouldn't have developed a deep appreciation for animals...

Mary Ellen Skinner
said

Seriously, are there still people out there who believe that zoos provide adequate care and a stimulating environment for animals? Whether or not Bob Barker has all the facts or not, at least someone is speaking out on behalf of this sickened and saddened soul. I question the intent of the staff at the Valley Zoo, isn't Lucy one of their star attractions? I think that perhaps the main reason why the zoo is fighting so hard to keep her might have something to do with this! The fact is that animals should never be exploited for out own selfish purposes - join my facebook cause - Help Free Lucy the Elephant!

Mandosa in Sarnia, Ontario
said

what a joke. bob wants what "nature intended" for her. Fine. Ship her back to Africa or Asia where she can fight for her food, fight off disease and this plaguing molar on her own, fight off lion attacks, etc..etc..

Joanne from Barrie
said

Call me crazy, but I have no interest at all in a zoo. I do not believe in keeping animals in captivity ...period.

I have been to the Toronto zoo, twice (against my better judgment), but my kids wanted to go. The two times that I went was in July. You know, there is something heartbreaking about seeing a Polar Bear lying on the rocks, in 35 degree C heat, unable to move due to the heat.

I am no animal specialist, nor an expert by any means, but I do, however, have a heart, and mine breaks every time I go there.

Animals should live in the enviroment that they were intended. I know that some will come back with the "ya, but what about hunters, urban living, yada yada yada", but I think that if the animals are to die off, due to whatever, then that is the cycle of mother nature. Let things be.

Marine Land is another one, can you imagine stuffing a whale into a swimming pool and making it do tricks. How insane is that?? Do we not all agree that a whale, dolphin, etc should be with their families in the ocean?

Just my humble opinion, for what its worth.

Carl of the North
said

People are being slaughtered in Africa, Women and children are being tortured and killed in Burma. One elephant that is being loved and cared for, is not really news. Lets focus on the real problems of this planet.

T.L.
said

Anmals in zoos are NOT in their natural habitat!! They are subjected to confined spaces and cages three hundred and sixty five days a year...year after year after year after year. Why don't you try it and see how healthy and comfortable you feel.

Kris D.
said

Jennifer:

Bob Barker has dedicated more years to studying animals and defending their rights then you could ever imagine. When he speaks on this issue, he knows what he's talking about.

Personally, I never visit zoos (aka jails for wild animals).

Charmaine
said

Is interference his new hobby now that he's out of the entertainment spotlight? I wish he would mind his own business.

Julie
said

Zoos should NOT exist what so ever, no matter how you spin it. It IS animal cruelty, even if they are spoiled with food and medicine on a daily basis!!

These animals had freedom once and able to live their lives in the wild, until MAN thought it would be cool and educational for people to see them upclose and personal. BUY A BOOK and you can see the images in their....go on an African Safary if you want to see them live....

I know I wouldn't want to be held captive.

dan
said

I dont think it is necessary to keep elephants in zoo's. I have been to the toronto zoo and seen the elephants there and can say it was one of the saddest displays i've seen. and the greater vancouver zoo is even worse.

Brenda
said

No matter how you put it Jennifer, Animals are not meant for our entertainment. Elephants don't like being in Zoos.

Zoos=animal slavery.

Brian
said

The Toronto zoo has several elephants and they look fine.
Bob barker should just keep his comments to him self.In matters of zoo animals should we take advise from a animal expert or a former game show host.

Jennifer
said

I wish people like Bob barker would educate themselves fully on a subject before they speak. He only has half of the situation and that half was given to him by an activist group that has their own agenda. It is great for people to be concerned about animals welfare but to truly be helpful you need to understand all aspects of a problem.

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