Comments on: Animal rights activists allege elephant abuse

By: Wind Dancer

Wind Dancer — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 18:39:43 +0000

Diane I agree with you about the Fat Woman that is all she can do is put fear in the elephants; that's how she gets her jollies. Look at that Fat Thing. Get a husband? Diane that is a funny joke. What real man would want her? I emailed Have Trunk Will Travel and I talked about that Fat Thing. I just don't understand how people can hurt animals and sleep at night. I sure would love to meet these people, maybe show them the way to use a bull hook. And really, hurt that little baby? You can see how frightened it is. The anxiety the adult elephants must have been going thru to see this little one so scared and there was nothing they could do. I know Satan is waiting for Fatso.

By: diane

diane — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 22:07:09 +0000

i have a right to freedom of speech and the press, why should i have to wait for you to approve my comment, ???

By: Diane Carvello

Diane Carvello — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 22:05:28 +0000

I have watched the video, there is cruelty going on at the Del mar fair with the Elephant rides. I have seen the bull-hook, I am going again to potograph and i assxure you, there will be abuse. She is a mean out of shape fat women who has nothing better to do than scare the crap out of these elephants. She needs to get a husband. I will be there AGAIN. and yes, i agree with Lorraine. Its absolutely disgusting and very sad. I did not see the DA there with his children or any of the City of San Diego folks there. If you just look at the elephants and you can see all the scars on their body. Just looking at this video, you can see them, so how can it be the the director has no comment. !! Maybe he should be fired!!!! You can see all the bull-hook scars. Why are you all so blind. How can you sleep at nite. Put these animals in a sanctuary. They have did there time, now its time for them to be free and not scared and cry. Yes, they cry.!!! ENOUGH

By: Fiona Aldrich

Fiona Aldrich — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 10:23:21 +0000

I viewed the video on the news last night and it was quite disturbing.How do these trainers sleep at night?

By: Lorraine Wilson

Lorraine Wilson — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:37:38 +0000

For the DAA president Barry Nussbaum to say he is not an animal expert and therefore is unable to interpret the video is just ludicrous. You don't need a degree in Zoology or Biology to see that the elephants in the video are being electrocuted and beat into submission. Elephants don’t voluntarily do unnatural circus tricks, like painful head stands and hind-leg stands without being abused. They are abused year after year, from the time they are still nursing babies. And for the CEO Tim Fennell to say that HTWT never abuses their elephants is just plain naive. Of course they aren’t going to abuse the elephants at the fairgrounds. The abuse happens behind closed doors. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress is determined by how its animals are treated." Clearly, the Zoological Society of San Diego, the District Agricultural Association and the Del Mar Fairgrounds are far from greatness and morality if they continue to defend, support and offer cruel and antiquated elephant rides in 2011.

By: Lorraine Wilson

Lorraine Wilson — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:36:42 +0000

It is really sad that the director of the Wild Animal Park, whom I assume is Doug Myers, would say that he is "not uncomfortable with what he saw." But it doesn't surprise me, as an employee of the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park for 12 years, I witnessed abuse, neglect and mismanagement of animals on an on-going basis and when I complained to the “director” he took the same complacent, callous attitude he did with the blatant abuse shown in this video. Clearly, his paycheck is far more important than the ethical treatment of animals and he lacks any scruples or compassion. The video taken at Have Trunk Will Travel (HTWT) clearly shows animal abuse. I have worked in the animal field for over 15 years, half of those years as an animal trainer for the Zoological Society of San Diego (ZSSD), and clearly, the elephants are being abused. Once again, bureaucrats are putting money before compassionate and ethical treatment of animals.