Carol McAlice Currie

Statesman Journal

Local animal-advocacy groups are calling attention to another Hollywood celebrity who has jumped on the bandwagon calling for the Oregon Zoo to retire Packy, its 52-year-old elephant.

Bob Barker, the 90-year-old former host of the long-running TV game show "The Price is Right," who is equally well known for his perennial animal-rights work, sent a letter to zoo officials in June, urging them to let Packy live out his remaining years in a sanctuary.

READ THE LETTER:Bob Barker's letter to Oregon Zoo interim zoo director and Portland Metro Council members

Barker joins Lily Tomlin and many wildlife conservation experts in a quest to get the ailing animal out of the enclosed elephant barn and into a place where he would be able to walk, forage, swim and live out his life to the fullest. Previously, Barker helped secure a retirement for three elephants housed at the Toronto Zoo.

A few years ago, Packy was diagnosed with tuberculosis and is being treated by Oregon Zoo veterinarians for the disease. He also suffers from a chronic cracked foot and leg problems. Barker said in his letter that the popular icon for the zoo has entertained the Portland community well for decades, and deserves to not be confined for his remaining days.

His letter also scolds Interim Zoo Director Teri Dresler, Portland Metro Council President Tom Hughes and Portland Metro Council members for spending $57 million to build a new Elephant Lands exhibit at the zoo, which will open next fall.

"The Kenya Wildlife Service protects tens of thousands of elephants in the wild with an annual budget of less than half that amount," Barker said, adding that the new exhibit with a 14,000-square-foot holding area with three 1,600-square-foot stalls will bring no meaningful relief to the zoo's eight elephants.

Packy is the oldest of the zoo's pachyderm herd, but the only one Barker calls on the zoo to retire. The Free Oregon Zoo Elephants association and the Humane Society of the United States, Oregon chapter, seek to have all eight released to sanctuaries.

"But we're grateful for the attention Barker's letter will generate, said Courtney Scott, president of FOZE.

"After 52 years of service, Packy deserves to be sent to a place where he can enjoy his final years in peace and serenity. I strongly urge you to provide Packy with the retirement he so richly deserves," Barker said.

ccurrie@statesmanjournal.com; (503) 399-6746 or follow on Twitter at @CATMCurrie