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Dear John,
It’s been a long time since we shared an update on Minnie the elephant, who tragically continues to languish in captivity on the property of a Connecticut-based traveling circus called the Commerford Zoo. And we know many of our supporters care deeply about her well-being, even more so after the other two elephants held in captivity with her, Beulah and Karen, passed away ( Beulah died after collapsing at a fair, and Karen died from kidney disease on the Commerford Zoo’s property [[link removed]] ).
So I wanted to take a moment to share an update today.
The good news is that Connecticut elected officials and residents, including your fellow NhRP supporters who live in the state, have been working on passing a bill that would ban the use of wild animals in traveling acts. The bill, H.B. 5123, was referred to the Environment Committee, which held a hearing on it on Feb. 27th. We submitted supportive testimony, which you can read here [[link removed]] . If passed, this bill would prevent entities like the Commerford Zoo from using elephants and other wild animals in fairs and other public forms of entertainment in Connecticut. Clearly this bill is sorely needed, and we’re happy to do all we can to help ensure its passage as we continue to fight for legal rights for elephants.
The bad news is that no matter the alarms that we, local activists, and other organizations have raised over the years, state and federal agencies continue to abdicate their responsibility to ensure that Minnie’s needs are being met, allowing her to suffer in conditions known to cause elephants physical and psychological harm. They failed to act even when the Commerford Zoo claimed in a GoFundMe [[link removed]] to be impoverished and no longer able to meet Minnie’s basic needs. Such failures are all too common. You likely know of nonhuman animals who have suffered where you live because those with the legal power to help do not do so or existing animal welfare laws are too weak to protect them–which is why, at the end of the day, fundamental legal change is needed.
We’ve stayed in close contact with local activists to help however we can, and we’ve been able to confirm through public records that Minnie is still alive. We dedicate time every day to uncovering more information about all our clients so we can identify new ways to fight for them. For example, we found the GoFundMe because we routinely monitor the Commerford Zoo’s Facebook page and saw they had posted a plea for help. We recently found footage of Minnie engaging in disturbing stereotypic behavior, specifically swaying and rocking (we aren’t yet able to share this video). Her tiny stall in a dark, barren barn has no soft surfaces; it’s just concrete flooring, which is incredibly painful for elephants to constantly be standing on. A giraffe is held in a stall near her. Connecticut winters are harsh, so it’s likely she’s standing or laying in this stall at least half of the year. Meanwhile, the Commerford Zoo has claimed [[link removed]] she’s a member of their family, refusing to let her go to a sanctuary where she can rest and feel safe and free for whatever years remain to her.
This is what happens when elephants are regarded as rightless things. Their “owners” can do what they want with them while the powers that be (in this case, the courts, state agencies, and the USDA) ignore the injustice and suffering right in front of them and look the other way.
You might be wondering what you can do to help. Keep sharing the stories of the Commerford Zoo elephants. On our Instagram [[link removed]] and Facebook [[link removed]] pages, we’ve shared this update along with a recent photo of Minnie, which, we have to warn you, is upsetting. You can find our video about Minnie here [[link removed]] and a National Geographic exposé of the Commerford Zoo’s treatment of these elephants here [[link removed]] .
Thank you for caring about Minnie and being part of the fight for nonhuman rights.
Courtney Fern
Director of Government Relations, the NhRP
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The NhRP is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation (Tax ID #: 04-3289466). It is solely through your donations that we can continue to work for the recognition and protection of fundamental rights for nonhuman animals.
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