Elephants in Sanctuaries and Circuses

There was much about elephants in the US news over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. On Sunday, May 29, the Chicago Tribune ran a front page story on The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, headed, "Where the elephants roam. At Tennessee facility, the land is their land." It is a long and detailed piece, well worth reading for anybody who would like to learn more about the wonderful sanctuary. It includes a touching description of the reunion, at the elephant sanctuary, of Jenny and Shirley who had suffered together at the same circus 22 years earlier. You'll find the article on line at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0505290315may29,1,1195705.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed OR http://tinyurl.com/cklhz

You can thank William Mullen for his beautiful article ( wmullen [at] tribune.com), or write a letter to the editor in favor of getting elephants out of zoos and circuses and to sanctuaries. The Chicago Tribune takes letters at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/chi-lettertotheeditor.customform OR http://tinyurl.com/4lsug

On Monday, May 30, the Washington Post published related disturbing news in an article by Marc Kaufman headed, "Illinois Elephants' Fate Remains Uncertain. Battle Over 'Hawthorn Herd' Pits Circus World Against Animal Rights Backers." (Page A06)

It opens:
"More than two years ago, federal officials concluded that 16 elephants owned by an Illinois circus-animal training business were being mistreated and had to be removed quickly. Facing the possible loss of his license to keep circus animals, the owner of Hawthorn Corp. formally agreed last year to give up his elephants as soon as a new home could be found.

"Fourteen months after that unprecedented agreement, however, most of the animals remain in an enclosed barn in rural Illinois, their future still very much undecided. Animal rights activists are outraged by the delay, the circus owner has been fighting the order in an administrative-law court, and the Agriculture Department faces criticism from all sides for its handling of the emotionally charged issue.

"And now it looks as if some of the animals will end up at another facility created by a circus and not -- as earlier believed -- at an animal sanctuary. The result is an increasingly bitter dispute about the 'Hawthorn herd,' and more generally about how well, or how poorly, the world's largest land animal is being treated in its North American diaspora.

"The current battle is between circus owners, who see the animals as potentially valuable breeding stock, and the Elephant Sanctuary, a 2,700-acre preserve in Hohenwald, Tenn., that allows generally older and sick female elephants from zoos and circuses to live out their days largely undisturbed by people.

"Hawthorn Corp. and Elephant Sanctuary officials nearly agreed earlier this year that all the elephants except one male would go to Tennessee, but the discussions broke down over issues including when the sanctuary could receive the animals and whether Hawthorn would contribute to their upkeep.

"Eager to have the Hawthorn issue settled, the USDA recently concluded that another circus owner from Oklahoma was qualified to receive three of the younger female elephants. Hawthorn owner John Cuneo said that he will send the animals to Oklahoma as soon as he gets permission in writing, and that he plans to send another young female and young male in the near future.

"But the prospect of having mistreated elephants 'freed' from the Hawthorn circus only to have them placed in another facility associated with a circus has inflamed animal rights advocates, and they have begun an aggressive campaign to convince elected officials and the public that all the animals should go to the verdant fields of Tennessee instead."

Carol Buckley, of the Elephant sanctuary, expresses her dismay that the elephant herd will be broken up. And we learn that the "Endangered Ark Foundation" to which the three elephants are headed, is owned by the Carson and Barnes circus, which intends to breed them and subject their offspring to circus life. The article tells us: "The circus has been cited for several federal animal welfare violations and was the subject of an undercover sting by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which videotaped a company trainer using a bull hook and an electric prod with the elephants in what the group considered an aggressive way." You can view that revolting footage, in which a Carson and Barnes trainer tells his protégé to sink the bullhook in and make the elephants scream on line at http://www.Circuses.com

We learn that Cuneo is avoiding sending his elephants to the sanctuary because it has been critical of circuses. The article ends with a quote from Carol Buckley: "We've made it clear to APHIS that we'll take the animals as soon as we possibly can, and that's only three months away. Shouldn't the government be looking to give these mistreated animals the very best home possible?"

You can read the full article on line at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/29/AR2005052900956.html OR http://tinyurl.com/bw8y4

And you can send a letter to the editor, perhaps giving your answer to Buckley's question. The Post takes letters at letters [at] washpost.com and advises, "Letters must be exclusive to The Washington Post, and must include the writer's home address and home and business telephone numbers."


(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. If you forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts, please do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)