XPost: can.politics, ont.politics, tor.general   
   XPost: ab.politics   
   From: ConsRCons@govt.cda   
      
   Too bad that 'Lucy', the single elephant left in an Albertan zoo,   
   couldn't be with them.  This is animal cruelty at its worst:  wild   
   animals living in confined zoos.   
   ___________________________________   
      
   October 17, 2013 The Globe and Mail   
      
      
   'A lot of tears' as Toronto Zoo elephants start controversial move to   
   California   
      
   Iringa, Thika and Toka will be shipped by truck after undergoing   
   training to remain calm and stand still   
      
      
   The Toronto Zoo's three remaining elephants are expected to be moved   
   onto trucks this morning, on a controversial journey to California that   
   the zookeepers' union considers too risky for the aging pachyderms.   
      
   Starting around 8:30 a.m., Iringa, Thika and Toka will be taken out of   
   their pen to be chained and crated before being loaded away, said   
   Matthew Berridge, a zookeeper and vice-president of the zoo workers'   
   union, CUPE Local 1600.   
      
   "There's a lot of tears, there's a lot of worries," he said when reached   
   Thursday morning.   
      
   The overland trip to the Performing Animals Welfare Society sanctuary in   
   Galt, near Sacramento, could take several days and the zoo employees'   
   union has raised concerns about the elephants standing for so long.   
   "It's really sickening," Mr. Berridge said.   
      
   Related: How to move an elephant from Toronto to California1   
      
   There is no disagreement that the three elephants should be relocated to   
   a warmer climate and there were earlier plans to fly the animals,   
   including talks with the Department of National Defence about using   
   military planes.   
      
   However, after a lengthy, emotional battle, city council decided last   
   month on a less expensive option, sending the elephants to PAWS by trucks.   
      
   For weeks, keepers have had to train the three elephants, to teach them   
   to remain calm and to stand still for long periods in their moving   
   crates. Concerns were raised when new crates for Iringa and Toka were   
   introduced.   
      
   The trucks are expected to roll out of the zoo by 10 or 11 a.m., Mr.   
   Berridge said.   
   ______________________________________   
      
   CBC News Posted: Aug 22, 2013   
      
   Lucy to remain as last elephant in Alberta   
      
   Calgary Zoo will ship its four elephants out to more southern climates   
   next spring   
      
   Elephant debate flares up again	   
      
      
   By next spring, Lucy will be the only elephant left in the province —   
   and one of the most northern elephants in the world.   
      
   Calgary Zoo officials said the decision to move the animals was made   
   last April because the island that houses the zoo cannot accommodate a   
   large herd, and elephant welfare is better served by being part of a   
   larger social group.   
      
   Lucy’s caregivers say moving her would be too dangerous, but as CBC’s   
   Tashauna Reid reports, the decision to keep her here remains controversial.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)