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Elephants

Prior to 2001, it was believed that there were two elephant species, the African and Asian elephants, but researchers determined that a second, smaller species lived in the dense rain forests of the Central Africa -- the forest elephant. It is likely that African elephants in captivity possess some genes in common with both species, and equally likely that hybrids occur naturally along the edge of each species' range.

The world's elephants are in danger from habitat loss and poaching for their ivory, but that hasn't stopped their exploitation in captivity. The worst culprits are the circuses, enterprises built not on family entertainment, but on an alternating cycle of torture and neglect. These highly intelligent and social animals suffer some of the worst abuses imaginable in the name of financial gain.

Circuses have long come under fire for their abuse of elephants and other animals, with a list of complaints that reads like an account of the holocaust. The torture begins when the elephants are young; trainers use heavy chains to restrict movement, and a bull hook, or ankus, to beat the animals into submission. The bull hook is used throughout the animals' lives in the circus; terrified elephants are battered and bloodied during training sessions, and forced to perform unnatural 'tricks'; some trainers have even been seen using blowtorches to remove elephants' body hair. It seems the more pain they can inflict, the happier the trainers are, and when the time comes to perform in front of an audience, they have instilled enough fear into the animals that they generally go through their routines without the need for violent reinforcement. Still, when elephants simply can't take any more abuse, they rampage, sometimes trampling or goring humans. Several such rampages have ended with the shooting of the elephant by police, a sad end to a miserable life.

Where their training tells a story of torture, the elephants' captive care tells one of neglect. They are often fed diets of poor nutritional quality, and they spend hours, and even days or weeks standing chained in their own waste. Lying down is rarely an option, and the constant standing can lead to health problems. Foot infections are common, and in at least one instance, circus personnel treated an infection by dousing the elephant's feet and legs with formaldehyde, resulting in severe burns. African and Asian elephants are often kept together, resulting in the transmission of diseases for which one or the other species does not have immunity. Perhaps worst of all is the complete lack of consideration given to the animals' social requirements; female elephants live in matriarchal herds in which they form lifelong bonds, but in the circus, elephants are sold and traded away regularly, further adding to their psychological instability.

Unfortunately, it is not only circuses that deal in elephant abuse; elephants trained for film and television endure similar circumstances, and are rented out to anyone with enough money. In 2006, an Asian elephant was used as a living art exhibition in Los Angeles, in which the animal's entire body was painted pink and gold. The stunt drew criticism against the artist and the animal's owners, who have a questionable animal welfare record when it comes to elephants, including a connection to at least one rampaging incident.

Zoos hold a sizable market share of elephant abuse as well, and zoo personnel are guilty of many of the same practices as circus trainers, including the use of bull hooks, and the continual breaking apart of elephant families. A number of premature deaths have drawn public outrage, and exposed cases of inappropriate husbandry and severe neglect. In recent years, a few zoo directors have opted to shut down their elephant exhibits in the interest of animal welfare, but the Association of Zoos and Aquariums has been highly uncooperative when attempts have been made to place the elephants into sanctuaries, threatening to pull the zoos' accreditation, and engaging in smear tactics to discredit sanctuaries.

It is possible that elephants are the victims of canned hunts and other unscrupulous practices; at least one animal auction house sells elephant tusks and trash cans made from elephant feet, and given the animals' protected status, export of these items might be considerably more difficult than obtaining the animals inside the United States.

Very few accredited sanctuaries have the capability of caring for elephants, and in most cases only female animals can be rescued, due to the very different requirements posed by males. More facilities are certainly needed. We call for a total boycott of all businesses that use elephants to make a profit, including those in other countries.