Thanks to our members who called and emailed the El Korah Shriners in response to our alert, Tina, Jewel and Queenie will not be performing in their Idaho shows. IDA and our members wrote to the Shriners to describe the suffering of these elephants and the danger to the circus-going public if they were used to perform. On June 18, IDA received a statement from the El Korahs' "Recorder" saying: "The elephants are not in Idaho and will not be participating in the Shrine Circus".

This was good news for Jewel, who, despite her shocking condition, is regularly trucked across the country and forced to perform alongside Tina and Queenie (aka Boo), who are also suffering greatly. (Read more about these elephants here.) Their unscrupulous handler, Will Davenport, has an atrocious history of repeated Animal Welfare Act violations, including abusive and unsafe handling practices, inadequate veterinary care, and negligent treatment of the elephants.

Every day that these sick and abused elephants are free of a circus show is a victory. Thank you for helping to win them some respite from the misery of traveling long distances only to stand, chained, in parking lots, in between performing tricks and giving rides.

Now we must make that freedom a part of their everyday lives. IDA, with your help, has repeatedly demanded the confiscation of these elephants by the USDA before it is too late for them to regain their health. IDA contacted Agriculture Secretary Vilsack demanding that the USDA exercise its confiscation authority and take Tina, Jewel and Queenie from their incompetent and abusive handler to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, where they can receive the veterinary treatment and attention they so desperately need.

The response we received from the Undersecretary of Agriculture demonstrates that the Secretary's office still fails to understand the gravity of this situation and the risk of further delay. IDA has responded to that letter, again underlining the urgent nature of the elephants' condition and the need to immediately confiscate them before it is too late for Tina, Jewel and Queenie as it has been for too many other elephants. See IDA's correspondence with the USDA here.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Thank you to all who have called and written to Congress and the USDA on behalf of Tina, Jewel and Queenie. The USDA has received so many calls that it set up a special team to handle them. The pressure we are generating is surely helping to bring attention to the plight of these elephants. We are confident that only a little more pressure is necessary to achieve our goal: confiscation of the elephants and transfer to a sanctuary. So please keep it coming. Click here to take action. Please note: When you call the Deputy Undersecretary of Agriculture Ann Wright, they will try to pass on your call to USDA’s animal care department, the very division that has failed to save these elephants, and others like them, for years. Please politely but firmly let them know that your message is specifically for Ms. Wright, as she is the administration official in charge of animal welfare regulation and enforcement for the USDA.

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Rep. or Sen.:

I am writing [again] regarding the dire situation involving three circus elephants, Tina, Jewel and Queenie. These elephants are under the control of an untrained and incompetent handler named Will Davenport, who has a history of chronically violating the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). For over two years, the USDA, which is supposed to enforce the AWA, has done little more than chronicle Mr. Davenport's repeated failures to provide adequate veterinary care to the elephants and handle them safely and humanely.

Meanwhile, the health of the elephants continues to decline, and they have lost a total of 1,800 pounds in less than a year. The elephant named Jewel is particularly emaciated and debilitated; she was last seen in public with wounds on her head, favoring her front right foot and so thin as to appear skeletal.

The USDA's refusal to act in this case, despite their own documentation of the elephants' declining health, is unacceptable, and its claim that it cannot confiscate these elephants is simply not supported by the facts. Please take the time to review In Defense of Animals' latest plea for action to rescue these elephants. As your constituent I request that you contact the USDA, remind them that it is in their power to save these elephants and demand that they do so.

Many thanks for your consideration.

Sincerely,

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If you have time to do more, or if you live outside the United States and you still want to help Tina, Jewel and Queenie: email or call the Department of Agriculture office, Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulation Ann Wright - and do this as often as you can, until Tina, Jewel and Queenie are safe in the Elephant Sanctuary. Ms. Wright oversees animal welfare enforcement at the USDA.

ann.wright@osec.usda.gov
phone: 202-720-4256 OR 720-7813.