Group Will Address Fair Board About Evidence of Severe Behind-the-Scenes Abuse by Have Trunk Will Travel
For Immediate Release:
November 7, 2011
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Del Mar, Calif. -- Armed with evidence that trainers with animal exhibitor Have Trunk Will Travel (HTWT) have repeatedly beaten elephants, PETA campaigner Katie Arth—along with world-renowned elephant expert Dr. Philip Ensley, who was an associate veterinarian for the San Diego Zoological Society for 29 years—will attend the meeting of the 22nd District Agricultural Association Board of Directors on Tuesday and ask its members to stop allowing the abusive exhibitor to provide elephant rides at the annual San Diego County Fair. At the meeting, Animal Defenders International will discuss its recently released video footage that shows HTWT trainers as they forcefully strike and gouge elephants using sharp metal-tipped bullhooks and shock them with electric prods during training. The footage shows a grown elephant who bellows in pain while being shocked in the genital area and a baby who cries out while being jabbed repeatedly in the mouth and hit over the head.
When: Tuesday, November 8, 1:30 p.m.
Where: Del Mar Fairgrounds Boardroom, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar
"There's no doubt that Have Trunk Will Travel abuses elephants, so you do have to doubt the board's judgment for allowing this abuser into the fair after learning about the beatings," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "The San Diego County Fair has no business being complicit in cruelty to animals or encouraging unsuspecting members of the public to patronize an abusive enterprise."
HTWT handlers use the constant threat of painful punishment to control the elephants who are used for rides at the fair. HTWT's violent training methods are not only cruel and abusive but also illegal—California law prohibits abusive behavior toward an elephant, including the use of electricity on an animal. Over the summer, the city of Sierra Madre's Fourth of July Parade Planning Committee canceled the appearance of an elephant from HTWT for its event when officials learned about the cruelty involved.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.