PETA Renews Appeal for San Diego County Fair to Cancel Cruel and Dangerous Elephant Rides
For Immediate Release:
December 20, 2012
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
San Diego -- PETA has fired off a letter to the organizers of the San Diego County Fair alerting them to a violation of the federal Animal Welfare Act by notorious animal exhibitor Have Trunk Will Travel (HTWT), which has supplied elephant rides for the fair. In the letter, PETA explains that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has just released records to PETA revealing that in August 2012, the agency—prompted by a PETA complaint—inspected HTWT and cited the outfit for failing to supervise its elephant rides properly, noting that at least twice, only a single handler was left to supervise two elephants. In light of this violation, PETA is renewing its call on the fair to follow the lead of the Orange County Fair, the L.A. County Fair, and the Santa Ana Zoo by ending its affiliation with HTWT.
"It's always dangerous to place adults and children on the backs of stressed, frustrated captive elephants—and when you have only one handler supervising multiple elephants, that risk skyrockets," says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Delcianna Winders. "PETA is telling the San Diego County Fair that these latest violations are yet one more reason to sever ties with HTWT's abusive, irresponsible, and hazardous elephant rides."
Just last year, Animal Defenders International released video footage of adult and baby elephants crying out in pain as HTWT trainers repeatedly struck them with sharp metal-tipped bullhooks and shocked them with electric prods. Abused elephants are known to lash out: One of the elephants owned by HTWT ran amok at the Denver Zoo, throwing a trainer against a wall, scattering crowds of visitors, and knocking over a mother and her baby. Elephant rides at numerous other venues have also resulted in injuries.
For more information, please visit PETA's blog.