What we're doing to help Minnie
It's been several months since we last shared an update on Minnie, but we want you to know we continue to do all we can both to shine a light into the prison cell where she appears to spend most of her days and, against all hope, get her out of there for good.
As part of my role at the NhRP as our Director of Government Relations and Campaigns and also, frankly, because of how personally outraged I am by the Commerford Zoo’s treatment of Minnie, Beulah, and Karen, I dedicate time every week, including my own personal time, to research and outreach that could, in however small a way, help Minnie.
Any time we find new information on Minnie or the Commerford Zoo, we turn it over to the appropriate agencies and share it with other advocates.
Any time we identify an opportunity to collaborate with other organizations and advocates who are working to free Minnie (and who are encountering the same obstacles and lack of any action on the part of relevant authorities), we do so.
Any time we identify an opportunity for grassroots advocacy, we disseminate it out locally and nationally.
Most recently, we've supported different versions of a traveling animal act ban that has been introduced for the past few legislative sessions in Connecticut. Unfortunately, despite the hard work and dedication of many local advocates, the bill did not advance out of the Environment Committee this session. It will have to be reintroduced next year. It may be redrafted, which is likely given the strong opposition it faced this year from Mystic Aquarium and the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA). Also, reintroduction is not a guarantee. We will continue to support state and local traveling animals act bans in Connecticut.
A look back on efforts to help Minnie
Over the past few years we have engaged with every single state, local, and federal agency that has oversight authority for the Commerford Zoo. We have presented them with evidence that Minnie is suffering, that her needs are not being met, and requested that, at a minimum, they conduct a welfare check on her. We have worked with state and federal lawmakers on actions to help free Minnie to a sanctuary. We have spoken with law enforcement about available options for helping Minnie. We have given public statements before local and state governing bodies requesting them to use their oversight authority to ensure Minnie’s needs are being met.
None of it has amounted to much because, at the end of the day, Minnie remains the property of the Commerford Zoo and a legal "thing" with no rights, with the Connecticut courts showing no interest in even considering that it is simply wrong to subject an elephant to this sort of life. That is why the best thing we can do for Minnie for the foreseeable future is to look out for any animal welfare violations that might trigger a meaningful investigation or sustained media attention, even though these violations have not done so in the past.
We do know that, as of March of 2023, Minnie is still alive. The last USDA inspection conducted on the Commerford Zoo property was on March 9, 2023 and she was noted as being present during the inspection. Of course, that she is alive doesn't mean she is actually living.
We know so many of our supporters are concerned about Minnie. Thank you. We are too. Please keep an eye on your inbox for more regular updates on her and opportunities to help. For now, the best way to help is to share her story.
It's infuriating and upsetting to me and to everyone at the NhRP to know how much Minnie is suffering and that no one with the power to help her will do so. While there are times that even I feel defeated, I imagine Minnie in that dark barn, alone, surely remembering Beulah, Karen, and the herd she was once part of, and I think of how she needs every voice possible calling for her freedom. As emotionally difficult as it has been and will be, we appreciate you being one of these voices.
Courtney Fern
Director of Government Relations and Campaigns, the NhRP
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