Action Needed to Save Elephants Boo, Tina and Jewel. Cross post, please.

August 24, 2009

A Saturday Dallas Morning News article said the USDA was not going to include Boo in their investigation, so regardless of whether Jewell and Tina were eventually rescued, Boo would not be rescued. This is unacceptable. We must advocate for all three elephants, Boo, Tina, and Jewell, to be rescued. Please see below action you can take to help all three elephants, and be sure to include Boo in your advocacy. Thank you. Margaret Morin, Founder, Concerned Citizens for Jenny (and Gypsy)--- On Mon, 8/24/09, In Defense of Animals <c+ida wrote:

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Tina And Jewel Being Treated For Medical Needs

Dear Members,

Thanks to your help and continued pressure from In Defense of Animals, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) confiscated the elephants Tina and Jewel on August 20 from their abusive circus handler, Will Davenport. (See news report here.)

News reports indicate that Tina and Jewel have been taken to the San Diego Zoo. While ideally we would have liked these elephants to go directly to a sanctuary, we understand that Jewel is very ill and in need of intensive medical care.

IDA commends the San Diego Zoo for stepping up to help Tina and Jewel and provide the essential veterinary care they need. We are also relieved that these two closely-bonded elephants will remain together in San Diego, where they will never again have to face fear and punishment with a bullhook or be trucked across the country and forced to perform. We will continue to watch closely for word of progress in these elephants' recovery.

IDA members should feel very good about this victory. It is never easy to get one, let alone two, federal agencies to act to help animals. This rescue is evidence of democracy in action. The tens of thousands of calls, emails and letters that our members have sent, along with IDA's investigative work, have made a difference in the lives of these elephants!

IDA has also learned that Davenport, in addition to surrendering the two elephants, relinquished his USDA exhibitor's license, meaning that he is by law prohibited from exhibiting Queenie, who remains in his charge.

Queenie Still Needs Our Help

With Tina and Jewel safely housed at the San Diego Zoo, our attention now turns to Queenie, also known as Boo.

In a 2006 undercover video taken by Animal Defenders International, Mike Swain, an employee of the Bailey Brothers Circus, a Davenport family operation, is shown to be kicking, beating, hooking and using an electric shock device on Queenie/Boo and another elephant named Chrissie.

In a March 2007 inspection, the USDA found Queenie's handler (Will Davenport) to be inadequately trained and experienced and unable to handle the elephant in a safe or humane manner:

The elephant had "multiple wounds draining yellowish exudates inside the left ear" that handlers had not reported. Wounds would be "consistent with the improper use of an ankus in the ear."

The handler was found to be "not properly trained or experienced." He "had to continuously rely on excessive and inappropriate use of the ankus to get the elephant to perform the behaviors he was asking for during the rides and performances . . . during the rides and performances, the handler was observed repeatedly jabbing and hitting the elephant with the ankus. Several times during the elephant ride, the handler used the ankus to hit the elephant and she reacted by throwing her head and changing her gait demonstrating irritation at the action of the handler . . . This is inappropriate and abusive use of the ankus and such use is likely to cause trauma, behavioral stress, physical harm or unnecessary discomfort . . . This type of inappropriate use can cause the elephants to become more aggressive." (Emphasis added).

Queenie and Boo must be removed from this situation.

For now, Queenie remains chained to a tree in Leggett, Texas, in the hands of a man who has demonstrated time and time again that he is unable or unwilling to provide her with the care she needs.

The USDA has informed our members that they intend to go back for Queenie, and we need to make sure that this rescue happens.

Please call or email USDA Undersecretary Ann Wright regularly until Queenie is safe. Thank her for the agency's actions to rescue Tina and Jewel and urge them to return as swiftly as possible to rescue Queenie. Queenie is not physically ill and can go directly to one of the two sanctuaries that have offered her a permanent home. The USDA must do whatever is necessary to ensure that Queenieâ€™s long years of abuse come to an end and that she is sent to a sanctuary without delay.

Ann WrightDeputy Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory ProgramsU.S. Department of AgriculturePhone: 202-720-4256 OR 202-720-7813Fax: 202-720-5775Email: ann.wright

Please also follow up with your Senators and Congressional representative. If they have been responsive in the past, be sure to acknowledge their help and role in Tina and Jewel's rescue. Urge them to continue to pressure the USDA to rescue Queenie as well and be sure to specify that she is sent to a sanctuary without delay.

Find your federal representatives here:http://ida.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=electedOfficials

Thank you!

In Defense of Animals, located in San Rafael, Calif., is an international animal protection organization with more than 85,000 members and supporters dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by protecting their rights and welfare. IDA's efforts include educational events, cruelty investigations, boycotts, grassroots activism, and hands-on rescue through our sanctuaries in Mississippi, Mumbai, India, and Cameroon, Africa.

In Defense of Animals is a registered 501©3 non-profit organization. We welcome your feedback and appreciate your donations. Please join today! All donations to IDA are tax-deductible.

In Defense of Animals3010 Kerner, San Rafael, CA 94901Tel. (415) 448-0048 Fax (415) 454-1031idainfo