ALERT TO ACTION: lone zoo elephant in such pain she can't stand

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FROM IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS (IDA) Last week on two separate occasions, Maggie, the lone elephant at the Alaska Zoo, was found prone and unable to stand up. Amidst a torrent of public outcry, IDA called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to immediately investigate the Alaska Zoo, remove Maggie from the Zoo and send her to a sanctuary with the space, climate, and conditions elephants need to thrive. Earlier this week, the Anchorage Assembly passed a resolution supporting Maggie's transfer to a suitable facility. The Alaska Zoo's Board of Directors will consider Maggie's fate next Tuesday night. They are soliciting public comments at directors. Please send a polite email to urge the Zoo to do right by Maggie and send her to a sanctuary. Urge friends and family members to weigh in as well. To learn more and to find talking points to help you draft your email, visit www.helpelephants.com Foot and joint disease in elephants are linked to cramped quarters, lack of exercise, and standing on hard surfaces like concrete, often in feces and urine. Maggie is especially prone to such unhealthy conditions, as she must live completely indoors during the harsh Alaskan winter, constantly walking and standing on hard concrete. In December 1997, Maggie's long-time elephant companion, Annabelle, also collapsed and could not right herself. News reports indicate that Annabelle was "so sick with infection in her foot and hurting so badly that she couldn't stand up anymore." She was euthanized at age 33, half an elephant's natural lifespan. Maggie has been all alone for TEN YEARS! Please, please just drop a line to help this poor suffering elephant get to a home where she can have friends, space to roam and swim, and natural food - in other words - be an elephant! All the arguments to prove man's superiority can not shatter this hard fact: In suffering, the animals are our equals. --Peter Singer, Liberation

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