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Point of View
The Worst Elephant
Experiences in the U.S.
While the owners of zoos and other wild animal tourist
attractions may argue that keeping elephants in captivity is
helping these animals, that is simply not the case.
In the wild, highly intelligent elephants walk up to
30 miles a day and are extremely social, with large,
extended families. On the other hand, in many tourist
attractions, elephants spend their lives in small enclosures,
often all by themselves. Their bleak living conditions can
lead to serious physical problems, such as deadly foot
disease and arthritis, as well as psychological problems,
like repetitive swaying and head bobbing.
These are among the many reasons why elephants
don’t belong in any zoo or circus. More than 40 countries
now have laws prohibiting the use of wild animals in
circuses and other types of entertainment, and many zoos
in the US are starting to close their elephant exhibits.
Nevertheless, many elephants in captivity continue to
live in terrible conditions around the world. Here, ranked in
order of their awfulness, are some of the worst of these
experiences in the U.S., along with what you can do
to help provide these elephants with better lives. The
rankings took into consideration the use of cruel devices to
train and punish elephants, like bullhooks, tasers and
chains; violations of the Animal Welfare Act; unethical
breeding; heavy exploitation; inadequate space; and
solitary elephants who showed signs of stress.
1. THE OREGON ZOO (PORTLAND, OR – USA)
This Portland facility has the dubious distinction of not
only being at the top of our list but also being a regular on
IDA’s (In Defense of Animals) annual lists of the worst
zoos in the world.
Among many issues, its elephant breeding program
has been criticized for selling calves to controversial
entertainment companies like Have Trunk Will Travel. It
also uses cruel devices called bullhooks – a stick with a
sharp hook on one end – to beat elephants into
submission. In 2000, the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) cited the zoo for violating the Animal Welfare Act
after an elephant named Rose-Tu was discovered with
more than 175 bullhook wounds.
Further, one Borneo pygmy elephant living at the
Oregon Zoo, named Chendra, who is the the only one of
her species in the U.S., is blind in one eye and shunned
by other elephants in captivity. Veterinarians have noted
evidence that the zoo has used a bullhook on Chendra
multiple times. The online site, Care2 is raising funds to
put up a billboard in Portland, Oregon demanding that
the zoo #FreeChendra. Animal welfare advocates have
been trying for years to get Chendra released to a
sanctuary. Over 260,000 people have even signed a
Care2 petition supporting their efforts.
The Oregon Zoo’s saddest and most infamous claim to
fame was Packy, a male Asian elephant born at the zoo in
1962, who spent his 54 years there in captivity, being
forced to breed – even with his sisters. Nearly 190,000
people signed an online Care2 petition urging the zoo to
send Packy to a sanctuary, but the poor elephant never
got to know freedom. Packy was euthanized in 2017.
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Animal activists believe he was killed because he was too
old to breed.
Why it’s on Care2′s Worst list: bullhook use, animal
welfare violations, unethical breeding, heavy exploitation
Take Action: Sign the petition at bit.ly/2OhUlHJ urging
the Oregon Zoo to end its elephant breeding program and
stop using bullhooks. Join more than 263,000 people who
have signed this petition telling the Oregon Zoo to send
Chendra the elephant to a sanctuary or contact them on
Twitter to keep the pressure on: @OregonZoo.
2. GARDEN BROS. CIRCUS (VARIOUS CITIES)
In a heartbreaking video posted on Facebook in 2016,
a young elephant, covered with bullhook scars, faces a
wall and sucks her trunk for comfort as she waits to
perform in the Garden Bros. Circus.
It should come as no surprise that the owners of
this and other circuses, Richard Garden and his sons
Lance, Niles and Zachary, have what the Animal Rights
Foundation of Florida referred to as a “sordid history” in its
list of troubling circus incidents going back to 1984, which
is why Garden Bros. ranks at No. 2 on our list.
In 2017, veterinarian Philip K. Ensley, an elephant
expert, published a report noting that two Garden
Bros. Circus elephants, Libby and Bunny, “suffer
physical injuries, inhabit intolerably restricted spaces
and are subjected to a travel and work schedule that
is inhumane by any standard.” The previous year,
a whistleblower reported seeing the elephants beaten with
bullhooks and shocked with tasers.
Why it’s on Care2′s Worst list: bullhook use, taser
use, heavy exploitation, inadequate space
Take Action: Please join more than 365,000 people
who have signed the Care2 petition at bit.ly/2CA2RLW
telling Garden Bros. to send Baby to a sanctuary.
3. R.W. COMERFORD & SONS
TRAVELING PETTING ZOO (VARIOUS CITIES)
This zoo, founded over 40 years ago in Connecticut,
travels the east coast offering rides on a 49-year-old Asian
elephant named Beulah as she is controlled with a
bullhook. Its website claims that it’s a “fun, friendly, and
safe place to bring your family!”
Animal rights activists disagree. PETA has a long list of
instances, dating back to 1989, in which the USDA has
cited Comerford & Sons for Animal Welfare Act violations.
This history of citations is what ranks Comerford & Sons
as the world’s third worst experience for elephants.
“As far as the violations, they’re no different than if the
health department was going to [a] restaurant,” zoo owner
Tim Comerford said in 2015, insisting that most of the
Point of View - Continued on page 9