The Plight of Circus Elephants

One of my most vivid memories, as a child who grew up in New York City, was the annual magical visit to the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus. My grandmother Rose purchased tickets months in advance to make sure that my cousins Judy and John and I would have the best seats in the house, and would not miss even a second of the most exciting event of the year. We looked forward to seeing all the circus acts with the courageous high wire performers leaping through the air, high above the stage, and the graceful ballerinas dancing atop powerful white horses. We loved watching clowns balancing balls in the air, and the fiercely brave animal trainer who put his head into the mouth of his lion. I still remember the taste of the puffy, sweet pink cotton candy and the mouth-watering aroma of hot dogs peddled by food-hawkers between the rows of seats. But what I looked forward to the most was watching the magnificently costumed elephants perform the most amazing tricks, and their incredible finale parade, trunk to tail in a long line, babies following behind them as they exited the arena. But those were my days of innocence, prior to becoming aware about the suffering and abuse a majority of these circus elephants are forced to endure. Today, the abuse still continues. I recently read a very disturbing item published on the In Defense of Animals (IDA) website. They told the story about Dondi, an elephant, who for 36 years was kept without other elephant companions during the summers by the Southwick's Zoo in Mendon, Massachusetts. There she performed for visitors, gave them rides and was posed for photo ops. Then, she was transported for the winters to Flea World, an amusement park and flea market in Sanford, Florida. Her owner, Phil Schach, claimed to adore her but obviously did not understand the highly social nature of elephants that thrive in family groups. Sadly, Dondi died a few weeks ago of causes still unknown. Since elephants have an average lifespan of 60 to 70 years, a red flag was raised. IDA became involved and filed a complaint with the USDA urging them to investigate her death. Not only did IDA request the Southwick's Zoo's president to release Dondi's veterinary and autopsy reports to the public, but also, since the zoo's tiny exhibit does not meet the requirements of elephants' complex needs, they also asked the zoo to stop exhibiting them. For example, Judy, an elephant exhibited at the zoo prior to Dondi, died of Tuberculosis in 2007. If you are as fired up about this as I am, please join me to help stop the Southwick's Zoo from keeping elephants by visiting the IDA Elephant Task Force Site. What do you think about animals used in circus exhibits? Let us know by leaving a comment. Photo Credit: Flickr user dumbonyc