
“in a zoo they’re plonked down, living completely alone, so that we get pleasure to behold them?”
— DR. JOYCE POOLE
SYNOPSIS
Lucy: The Stolen Lives of Elephants is the FIRST documentary film which reveals the plight of elephants in captivity and investigates the lies that zoos tell an unknowing public under the guise of wildlife conservation and education. At the heart of the film is Lucy, Edmonton Valley Zoo's lone and ailing 48-year-old elephant and the people fighting to send her to sanctuary in California where she can live for the first time in decades with the company of other elephants.
Lucy’s roots are traced back to Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka, where elephants are exploited as a tourist attraction and many are sold to zoos throughout the world. The film contrasts the difference between elephants who live in zoos with footage of elephants in their natural habitat and sanctuary. Meanwhile, zoos worldwide falsely boast of their critical role in education and preventing the extinction of the many animals that are threatened in the wild.
The film features a story of hope and a glimpse at a possible future for Lucy through the story of Kuky and Pupy, a pair of female elephants and their unusual, evolving zoo in Buenos Aires. As they wait to be transferred to a sanctuary, another pair of elephants in Argentina are relocated to the Global Sanctuary for Elephants in Brazil.
With The Jane Goodall Act (now called Bill S-15) awaiting passage in the Canadian Parliament, there is potential for exciting change on the horizon. This historic Bill looks to a future where wild animals will no longer live in captivity in Canada.