Tina and Jewel, two severely neglected elephants, urgently need your help! They belong to Cole Bros., a circus that was assessed a $10,000 penalty by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for abusing elephants with bullhooks. Now things have gone from bad to worse. PETA filed a complaint with the USDA after confirming a whistleblower report noting that Jewel was emaciated. The USDA subsequently removed both elephants from the road, stating that, in the case of Jewel, "continued travel would be detrimental to her health ...." But now they are being housed at an unapproved facility in Leggett, Texas, and USDA inspection reports document a troubling pattern of poor health and Animal Welfare Act violations. According to one recent inspection, an elephant expert "determined that both elephants showed an alarming amount of weight loss."
Cole Bros. is leasing the elephants to Davenport's Gigi Exotics, which tours under a variety of circus names, such as L.E. Barnes and Bailey Circus and Starr Bros. Circus. The Davenport family formerly operated the King Royal Circus, until its USDA license was permanently revoked when a young African elephant named Heather was found dead in a crowded, overheated trailer.
PETA and In Defense of Animals are calling for these elephants to be confiscated by the USDA and relocated to The Elephant Sanctuary, where they can receive proper nourishment and veterinary care from qualified elephant caretakers.
Please send polite letters to the USDA asking that it confiscate both elephants and transfer them to a sanctuary immediately:
Chester A. Gipson, D.V.M., Deputy Administrator
USDA-APHIS-AC
4700 River Rd., Unit 84
Riverdale, MD 20737-1234
301-734-7833
301-734-4993 (fax)
