“During the course of my career, I’ve seen elephants being beaten who have no idea why they are being beaten or what is expected of them. They will start randomly lifting one leg, then another and another, lifting their trunk, hoping some trick will satisfy the trainer and make the beating stop. …Raising a baby elephant at Ringling is like raising a kid in jail.” (former Ringling trainer Sammy Haddock)

“I never saw a circus elephant make that face [a smiling one, indicating happiness]. They looked tired, weary, frustrated, angry, and so very sad. I stopped one of the assistant elephant handlers to ask why a particular elephant had tears pouring down the sides of her face. He laughed, ‘‘Cause she’s a bitch and the bitch got what was coming to her.’ He then pointed to the welt on the side of his face from where she had slapped him with her trunk. He then showed me his bull-hook, a two foot long stick with a metal hook on the end used to train elephants. ‘I gave her about ten good whacks across her skull. Bam! Bam! Bam!’ he demonstrated. ‘Bitch’ll think twice before she messes with Cowboy [a name given to him in prison].’” (former Ringling clown Andre du Broc)

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, The Greatest Show on Earth, arrives in Albany for eight performances this week. This article’s title may seem inflammatory and hyperbolic, but if it looks and sounds like slavery…

Given the elephant’s intelligence and cognitive depth (they are self-aware, use tools, grieve, have their own language, and retain cultural memory), their abuse and suffering (over a lifetime measured in decades) is particularly heartrending. Baby elephants are forcibly separated from their mothers and callously trained (some defecate upon hearing a trainer’s voice). Once promoted, they endure incessant traveling in cramped conditions; chains come standard. Stereotypical swaying and head-bobbing indicate profound emotional and psychological distress. Sometimes, they can’t endure any further. So, they rebel.

Animal advocates ask parents to consider the following before purchasing tickets:

First, and with healthy cynicism applied, ask what each side to the debate has at stake. Ringling remains enormously popular/profitable and to alter that model would be a corporate sin. In other words, money. Protesters are simply giving voice to the voiceless, acting only in the animals’ behalf.

Second, if you were an elephant, would you rather be roaming free on the African plains or wrenched, tied, manhandled, hooked, prodded, trucked, trekked, and chained? To be clear, performing elephants have nothing to do with elephant conservation (will Ringling ever return them to the wild?).

And third, would you want your child to witness this training process? The finished product appears to be innocuous fun; the means to effect that end are anything but. Would not the mother’s anguish upon losing her baby and the shrieks from the bullhook blows elicit a child’s innate compassion?

Animal Defenders International recently released this video from the UK’s Bobby Roberts Super Circus. It reveals the merciless beating (48 times) of a 57-year-old arthritic elephant (chained and helpless, of course) named Anne. Other animals are seen being hit and even spat upon. While watching, consider these insights from Bobby Roberts himself: “We take good care of her [Anne]. She is a family pet (2010).” And, “Anne has a good quality of life. It is absolutely ridiculous what they are saying (2011).” Predictably, the circus professes shock and blames “rogue workers.” But isn’t it astounding how often these miscreant employees surface? Like here. And here. And here.

A March 2010 poll shows that almost 95% of the British public supports a ban on using wild animals for entertainment. In the end, real and lasting change will only come when the masses want it. No amount of feeble regulation (and hollow oversight) will change this simple truth: as slaves, animals like Anne are utterly subject to the discretion of their owners (and agents). If they want to whack them with a bullhook, they can (and do). If they want to keep them chained and immobile for many straight hours, they can (and do). If they want to “fry” them with an electric prod, they can (and do). Waging battle with big commerce and entrenched convention (Ringling has been using elephants since 1872; I went as a child and took my own children) can be daunting. But power ultimately lies with the buying-public. There are many non-exploitative entertainment options for parents (including other circuses).

For its part, Ringling claims that the elephant’s “playtime activities form the basis for the performance routines you’ll see in the show. …these performances are extensions of their natural behavior.” And while not denying the use of bullhooks and chains, Ringling claims they serve merely to guide and provide safety. But doesn’t the use of sharp objects and heavy shackles necessarily imply an involuntary servitude? Slavery? The answer should be as clear and obvious as the giant elephant in the arena.

“I stopped telling people what I did for a living. I was ashamed.” (Sammy Haddock, former elephant trainer for Ringling Bros.)

Sammy Haddock worked with circus elephants over a 30-year period, with several of those as a trainer at Ringling’s Center for Elephant Conservation. Fulfilling a promise to his dying wife, the then-retired Haddock approached PETA (an unlikely pairing, for Haddock was a meateater/hunter) about exposing the inherent cruelty in training circus elephants. In August 2009 (Haddock died later that year), he signed a notarized declaration that included numerous pictures from his workplace. Referring to one photo, Haddock said, “The baby elephant is slammed to the ground. See its mouth is wide open? It’s screaming bloody murder. It doesn’t have its mouth open for a carrot.” For its part, Feld Entertainment (Ringling’s parent company) does not deny the authenticity of the photos, only the interpretation. Gary Jacobson, the Center’s head trainer (and Haddock’s former boss), says, “These are classic pictures of professional elephant-training. …This is the most humane way.”

The worst, for Haddock, was the “gut-wrenching” forced-separation of mother and calf: “When pulling 18-24-month-old babies, the mother is chained against the wall by all four legs. Usually there’s 6 or 7 staff that go in to pull the baby rodeo style. …Some mothers scream more than others while watching their babies being roped. …Once they’re pulled from their mothers, they’ve tasted their last bit of freedom and the relationship with their mother ends.” Jacobson counters, “That was before the turn of the century [the 1990’s, by the way] when cold-break weaning” was considered necessary in dealing with combative, protective mothers.

The calves must develop learned helplessness before graduating from rope restraint (which can take up to six months). They will spend 23 hours of their day restrained. Once inside the training tent, loud music is played to “drown out the baby’s screaming” and to adapt them to the circus of the circus. According to Haddock, Ringling’s training regimen requires: “…brute force, electricity, and a savage disposition. Raising a baby elephant at Ringling is like raising a kid in jail.”

Jacobson does not deny the extensive use of bullhooks (Ringling calls them guides) or the occasional “hot shot” (electric prod). Haddock, though, said the bullhook “…is designed for one purpose, and one purpose only, to inflict pain and punishment. I should know, I used to make them.” He claimed that Jacobson hooked the elephants in tender areas to force movement, and that hook and burn marks were covered with mud for USDA inspections.

Haddock also confessed to his own acts of cruelty. On one occasion, after Vance knocked him unconscious, “I burned out two hot shots and fried him for about ten minutes. He was screaming and regurgitating water.” Another time, he mercilessly beat Major with a bullhook for 15 minutes, freely admitting, “I laid him down and hooked him repeatedly in his ear canal. …Major was screaming bloody murder.” Haddock summarized the brutality thus: “During the course of my career, I’ve seen elephants being beaten who have no idea why they are being beaten or what is expected of them. They will start randomly lifting one leg, then another and another, lifting their trunk, hoping some trick will satisfy the trainer and make the beating stop.”

Images are almost invariably more powerful than words. Ringling squirms and spins, but the indictment remains for all to see.

Tyke was a professional performing-elephant who attempted her first escape from circus prison in April 1993 (and again three months later). These acts were, in the parlance of human psychology, cries for help. By August of 1994, she could endure no more. At a Circus International performance in Honolulu, Tyke turned on her trainer (who was described as a punishment-type), killing him, before seriously injuring her groomer. She then bolted for the door. The promoter attempted to corral her, and he too was wounded. As the terrified elephant made a desperate run for freedom down a Hawaii street, police opened fire. 86 times. The profoundly sad fall was captured on video.

The Hawthorn Corporation (Tyke’s owner) had a long history of animal care violations. Documentation on Tyke first surfaced in 1988: “The elephant handler was observed beating the single-tusk African elephant in public to the point [where] the elephant was screaming and bending down on three legs to avoid being hit. Even when the handler walked by the elephant after this, the elephant screamed and veered away, demonstrating fear from his presence.” In 2004, the USDA finally ordered Hawthorn to relinquish its 16 elephants (after 19 violations of the Animal Welfare Act).

Elephants are among the most intelligent and majestic of beings. They are self-aware, use tools, retain cultural memory, and clearly communicate to one another. And, mourn their dead. Martin Meredith, author of Elephant Destiny, quotes biologist Anthony Martin-Hall:

The entire family of a dead matriarch, including her young calf were all gently touching her body with their trunks and tried to lift her. The elephant herd were all rumbling loudly. The calf was observed to be weeping and made sounds that sounded like a scream but then the entire herd fell incredibly silent. They then began to throw leaves and dirt over the body and broke off tree branches to cover her. They spent the next 2 days quietly standing over her body. They sometimes had to leave to get water or food, but they would always return.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey currently owns 52 elephants. Earlier this year, Ringling boss Kenneth Feld admitted in a courtroom (Ringling is being sued on a possible Endangered Species violation) that his handlers hit their elephants with bullhooks and use heavy chains to correct and guide. He has personally witnessed elephants struck under the chin, behind the ears, or on the legs, but said, “I don’t view what I’ve seen as abuse.”

An internal email from an assistant vet was also disclosed during the trial: “…after this morning’s baths, at least 4 of the elephants came in with multiple abrasions and lacerations from the hooks. …Jimmy applied silvadene and wonder dust just before the show.” And, Deborah Fahrenbruck, an animal behaviorist for Feld Entertainment, wrote to Mr. Feld: “Last night in the show I observed him hook Lutzi under the trunk three times and behind the leg once in an attempt to line her up for the T-mount. After the act I stopped backstage and observed blood in small pools and dripped along the length of the rubber and all the way inside the barn. …I talked to Troy the next morning. …His main point being…what happens in the elephant barn stays in the barn.”

Two former Ringling employees, Archele Hundley and Bob Tom, claim that Ringling knew of USDA inspections in advance. More damning still, was their witness to a violent 30 minute beating by trainer Sacha Houcke. After inserting a bullhook inside an elephant’s ear canal, Houcke proceeded to yank with full force; the elephant cried out in agony. Hundley and Tom also saw elephants urinating, defecating, and trumpeting in fear at the sound of trainers’ voices. Urinating and defecating in fear.

Tyke’s suffering and desperate wish for it to end is all the more heartrending when considering an elephant’s extraordinary intelligence and awareness; in other words, we should be able to empathize. Tyke rebelled using the only means at hand, crying “Enough.” Please remember her the next time the circus comes to town.