Bob Barker Pleads with USDA's Secretary Vilsack for Queenie. . .
"Please Do the Right Thing!"
(San Andreas, CA) Queenie, a 52-year-old Asian elephant who has spent her entire life in captivity, traveling in circuses, has many good friends who care about her "sunset" years.
One noted friend is Emmy Award-winning host Bob Barker. Mr. Barker has long championed the cause of captive elephants and is a supporter of the Performing Animal Welfare Society, internationally known as PAWS.
Today, Mr. Barker is pleading to the United States Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, to intervene and reverse a disastrous USDA decision that will send Queenie to the San Antonio Zoo. Speaking from his home, Mr. Barker had this to say to Secretary Vilsack:
"Secretary Vilsack, Queenie has already suffered at the hands of humans. She has endured a lifetime of captivity in traveling shows. You have a unique opportunity to do the right thing for this beautiful animal. Please send her to the PAWS sanctuary to live out her sunset years. And my pledge to you is that it won't cost the United States government a penny."
Mr. Barker joins tens of thousands of other concerned citizens across the country who are urging that Queenie be sent to PAWS' ARK 2000 sanctuary in Northern California.
ARK 2000 consists of 2,300 acres. At ARK 2000, Queenie will join four other Asian female elephants, and one male Asian elephant, and she will have the freedom to roam the vast hillsides and enjoy the spaciousness of PAWS' natural Asian elephant habitat which consists of over 50 acres of grasses, trees, and ponds, as well as a 20,000 square foot barn.
The San Antonio Zoo's total facility size is 56 acres. Within those 56 acres are over 3,500 animals. Their lone elephant Lucky, has only � acre for her yard and barn. The zoo's elephant program, before the death of their African elephant, violated even the American Zoo Association (AZA) standards.
Six months ago PAWS sent a formal offer to Secretary Vilsack offering to provide Queenie lifetime sanctuary -- and at NO COST to the United States government.
PAWS has launched a full-scale petition drive for Queenie that demands Secretary Vilsack intervene immediately.
Mr. Barker has a history of generously supporting PAWS and elephants in need. He and PAWS Directors Pat Derby and Ed Stewart have worked together and were instrumental in successfully relocating four elephants to the ARK 2000 sanctuary. Two of those elephants were Asian elephants confiscated by the USDA, one was an African elephant from the Los Angeles Zoo, and another an African elephant from the Alaska Zoo.
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The Performing Animal Welfare Society was founded in 1984 and is recognized internationally for leadership in the protection of captive wildlife. Operating three captive wildlife refuges, PAWS provides peaceful sanctuary for abused, abandoned or retired animals while promoting national and international programs designed to gain permanent protection for all captive wildlife.
For more information on how to help Queenie and other captive wildlife and the PAWS Sanctuaries, please visit www.pawsweb.org.