A Lifetime of Misery — Help End the Mistreatment of Elephants in Entertainment
Hundreds of elephants are currently being used in circuses and zoos all across the United States.
Elephants in circuses are forced to perform unnatural, demeaning tricks — forced by the wielding of cruel bullhooks. They are shipped around the country, chained on hard concrete surfaces for hours, even days.
In zoos, elephants languish in small enclosures, sometimes alone in alien environments, far removed from their natural habitat and deprived of the environmental, physical, and social stimulation they need. Depending on the management technique of the zoo, they may be chained for hours on end and endure the cruel bullhook.
Learn more about the chaining of elephants and bullhook use.
Lota's life was no different.
Born in India in 1951 and cruelly taken from the wild when only a year old, Lota spent two years at a zoo in India and then was shipped to the Milwaukee County Zoo in Wisconsin where she spent the next thirty-five years. While there she was chained for 18 hours a day by two legs and suffered the abuse of the bullhook. Zoo officials utilized her as a training subject for new elephant keepers where her abuse was videotaped.
Lota was eventually sold to the Hawthorne Corporation, which rents out its elephants to various circuses, in 1990 for one miserly dollar. The original agreement between the zoo and the Hawthorne Corporation was to retire Lota. However, she spent the next thirteen years traveling around the country performing circus tricks, being chained for hours on end and having the bullhook used on her.
In 1997, she was diagnosed with the human strain of tuberculosis. Then in 2004, after half a century of misery, Lota finally got a taste of the freedom she deserved, thanks to the many compassionate individuals who championed her cause. Her chains removed forever, the bullhook just a memory, she was reunited with one of her elephant companions, Misty, from her circus days.
Lota enjoyed 85 precious days of sanctuary at the Elephant Sanctuary before she passed. Misty was steadfastly by her side when she died.
Lota was featured on the campaign billboard from which the limited edition bag is made. Thanks to GG2G, compassionate people like you can honor Lota's memory and "carry" our message of "freedom for all elephants" each and every day with the limited-edition Lota Tote.
Together We Can Make a Difference for Captive Elephants
Lota's story is a tragic one. And while cruel treatment of elephants in circuses and zoos continues today, Born Free USA is leading the fight to break their chains — to stop their beatings — forever. But we need your help to accomplish this!
We work with the media, legislators, the courts, and the public to get our message out about the plight of captive elephants in the U.S.
We have just concluded a groundbreaking lawsuit against Ringling Bros. for its mistreatment of Asian elephants, an endangered species. Central to the lawsuit is the allegation that the use of bullhooks and the constant chaining of elephants wounds, harasses, and harms the elephants, which amounts to a "take" in violation of the Endangered Species Act. The trial lasted 6 weeks and we are now waiting on the judge's decision.
As a result of this case we have amassed volumes of evidence that were entered into the record revealing how long the animals are kept immobilized in chains (often more than a day straight); video footage of employees hitting the elephants; government enforcement records; and medical records clearly describing the poor health conditions of the elephants. We have placed all the evidence on our website at www.bornfreeusa.org/courtdocs and have arranged them by issue area for easier viewing.
We want to get this evidence in the hands of lawmakers. Please write your state and local legislators and ask them to ban the use of bullhooks and chains. Help us spread the message that elephants are not here to entertain us! Click here for more information.
We are working hard at the state level introducing bills to ban the use of bullhooks and chains on all captive elephants. We have introduced bills in Connecticut and Massachusetts and need your help if you live in one of these states. Please sign-up for our action alert team to follow the progress of these bills and take action.
Become a zoo checker. With our help you can help us track abuses and substandard conditions suffered by elephants in zoos, aquariums, circuses, or other places that exhibits animals.
Together we can make a difference for captive elephants. We must stand up and break the chains and end the abuse for good.
