Update: April 8, 2008

Chicago Committee Creates Working Group

On April 8, 2008, Chicago’s City Council Committee on Parks and Recreation heard testimony in support of legislation that would ban the use of chains and bullhooks on elephants. Members of the Committee were moved by testimony from retired Palm Bay, Florida, Police Officer Blayne Doyle who spoke of being forced to shoot a rampaging elephant named Janet who ran amok with a mother and five children on her back. Council members also heard from former Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus employee Archele Hundley who described a 30- to 45-minute beating of a chained elephant with a bullhook that left the animal bleeding from wounds on her face and body.

After 3.5 hours of testimony, the ordinance sponsor, Alderman Mary Ann Smith, called on elephant experts and circus industry representatives to meet over the next four months and determine best practices for the care and handling of elephants.

The hearing was covered by Chicago Sun-Times, the Chi-Town Daily News, and the Chicago Tribune.

See video testimony from world-renowned elephant experts who overwhelmingly support efforts to provide humane treatment for elephants in captivity.

Update: May 25, 2006

PETA Honors Wankie, Peaches, and Tatima With Memorial at Lincoln Park Zoo

On the third anniversary of the opening of Lincoln Park Zoo’s costly yet completely inadequate elephant enclosure, PETA and concerned Chicagoans gathered to remember Wankie, Peaches, and Tatima—the three elephants who died prematurely at the zoo and the only elephants to have occupied the grossly undersized exhibit. PETA warned the zoo that the cramped space would be a death sentence, and within two years, all three elephants were dead. Tombstones and flowers were placed outside the empty elephant enclosure to encourage Chicagoans to remember the plight of these elephants.

To honor these three gentle giants and to ensure that no other elephants suffer a similar fate, PETA is working to make sure that the elephant protection ordinance is passed in the city of Chicago. The ordinance, which is pending in the Rules & Ethics Committee, mandates more humane living conditions and handling for elephants who live in or pass through the city.

More than 35,000 postcards signed within the city in support of the ordinance have been sent to Chicago City Council members.

If you live in Chicago and are interested in joining our efforts to make sure that the elephant protection ordinance is passed, please contact RaeLeann Smith.

Update: February 23, 2006

Elephant Experts From Three Continents Speak in Support of Chicago's Pending Elephant Protection Ordinance

Experts from Africa, Europe, and cities across the United States—a panel consisting of a veritable "who's who" of elephant experts—traveled to Chicago to present irrefutable evidence in support of the city's pending elephant-protection ordinance. On February 23, the experts testified before the Chicago City Council's Committee on Rules and Ethics while local "ele-friends"—donning their bright green T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "This Proud Chicagoan Supports Kindness to Elephants"—packed the gallery. The room was filled with nearly 100 compassionate pro-ordinance, pro-elephant Chicagoans.

Here's what the experts had to say >>

Update: February 10, 2006

Help Stop Elephant Abuse in Chicago

After years of campaigns and protests in Chicago, the time has come to finally stop elephant abuse and suffering in the city. Please help ensure that the landmark elephant-protection ordinance is passed. This is a groundbreaking piece of legislation that would give Chicago the strongest elephant-protection laws in the country, far exceeding the abysmal and cruel standards that are set by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association and the Animal Welfare Act.

If you live in Chicago, this is your last chance to write or call your alderman and urge him or her to support the elephant-protection ordinance. If you don’t know who your alderman is, you can find out by typing in your address here.

Chicagoland residents, please attend the hearing on February 23 at 10 a.m. on the second floor of the City Council chamber, which is located at 121 N. LaSalle St. Elephant experts will be flying in from all over the world to testify in support of this ordinance. We must pack the room with supporters. Everyone will receive a bright green elephant-protection ordinance shirt to wear at the hearing. Please arrive no later than 9:30 a.m.; seating is limited.

If you are not a Chicago resident or live too far to travel to the hearing, please write to Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and urge him to support the elephant-protection ordinance. Let him know what a true leader Chicago can be by establishing the strongest elephant-protection laws in the country.

The Honorable Richard M. Daley
Mayor of Chicago
Office of the Mayor
121 N. LaSalle St., Rm. 507
Chicago, IL 60602
312-744-8045 (fax)

It’s now or never! Please seize this opportunity to help these gentle giants, whose daily suffering is all too real. Elephants in captivity suffer painful foot infections, arthritis, and premature death because they do not have enough space. Elephants in circuses are chained and beaten, and they live under constant intimidation. These highly intelligent, social, and sensitive animals deserve better. The two minutes that you take out of your day to send a note to Mayor Daley or call your alderman could give the world’s largest land mammals a reprieve from inhumane conditions and handling in Chicago.

Update: January 11, 2006

Widow Selects First-Ever "Richard Pryor Memorial Award" Recipient: Chicago Alderman Mary Ann Smith

Just a month after PETA and animals everywhere lost dear friend Richard Pryor to a heart attack on December 10, 2005, Alderman Mary Ann Smith was awarded the first Richard Pryor Memorial Award for her sponsorship of the Elephant Protection Ordinance in Chicago's City Council. "Of all the issues Richard worked on over the years, cruelty to elephants was dearest to his heart. He felt for elephants who are robbed of their freedom and families and sent to circuses where they endure chains, bullhooks, and beatings or banished to zoos where they spend a lifetime of boredom, confined in small, concrete enclosures," said Richard's widow, Jennifer Lee Pryor, upon choosing Alderman Smith as the first recipient of her husband's memorial award.

"Animals have lost a true hero, and it is my hope that the Chicago City Council will pass the elephant ordinance, which will make Chicago the nation's leader in elephant protection and make such a huge difference to the animals who meant so much to this amazing man," said Alderman Smith upon receiving her award. "Richard Pryor will be missed."

The pending Chicago ordinance to ban the bullhook and other implements of torture and mandate more suitable space caught the attention of the Chicagoland native and comedian. Richard not only spoke in favor of the ordinance by sending letters to all 50 Chicago aldermen but, weeks before he died, also wrote a letter to another famous Chicagoan, Oprah Winfrey, urging her to support the measure as well, writing the following:

I wanted to let you know about a situation in Chicago that I've been tracking closely, with the hope that you might consider getting involved. ... A word from you would make all the difference.

As you probably know, there is an elephant-protection ordinance, sponsored by Alderman Mary Ann Smith and about a dozen other aldermen, pending in Chicago that would prevent circuses from using sharp metal bullhooks and electric prods on elephants. It would also ban chaining, which would give the elephants a bit more freedom, and it would require that zoos provide 10 acres of land for each elephant.

I've been involved in promoting the kind treatment of animals for some time now and have worked with PETA quite a lot in recent years. During this time, I've seen some really horrible video footage of circus trainers beating elephants with bullhooks and using electric shock prods. And there's a growing concern about inadequate space and improper care, which was reiterated last year when three elephants died prematurely within an eight-month period at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Will you consider signing the attached letter ...?

Richard also urged UniverSoul Circus to eliminate its animal acts and asked Ringling Bros. to retire its elephant performers. He wrote an op-ed comparing the chaining and abuse of elephants in the circus to modern-day slavery, stating, "But for the use of physical punishment by, and fear of, their oppressors, animals would never be a part of a circus." His fight against injustice to animals and especially elephants continues through Pryor's Planet, his nonprofit, which is currently working to get pachyderms out of chains and into sanctuaries.

To help, please send short, polite letters to Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley asking him to publicly support the Elephant Protection Ordinance:

The Honorable Richard M. Daley
Mayor of Chicago
Office of the Mayor
121 N. LaSalle, Rm. 507
Chicago, IL 60602
312-744-3300
312-744-8045 (fax)
mayordaley@cityofchicago.org

And send thank-you letters to Alderman Mary Ann Smith for sponsoring this ground-breaking effort that would give Chicago the strongest elephant protection laws in the country:

The Honorable Mary Ann Smith
City Hall Office
121 N. LaSalle St.
Rm. 300
Chicago, IL 60602
312-744-6860
312-744-0804 (fax)

Update: October 14, 2005

P!nk and Sir Paul Push for Chicago's Elephant Protection Ordinance

Sir Paul McCartney and P!nk have joined PETA in supporting Chicago’s landmark Elephant Protection Ordinance. The former Beatle has sent a letter to Chicago Alderman Mary Ann Smith thanking her for introducing the ordinance, and pop star P!nk has written to Chicago’s Mayor Richard Daley urging him to support it.

“The three recent elephant deaths at Lincoln Park Zoo are troubling,” says McCartney to Smith. “You’re to be commended for determining that there are better, more humane ways to care for these exceptionally intelligent, sensitive, and very large animals.”

“Elephants need many acres to roam and suffer a great deal when chained or kept in cramped spaces for extended periods,” writes P!nk. “They should never be subjected to abusive training practices, including the use of bullhooks and electric prods.”

Update: August 25, 2005

World-Renowned Elephant Behaviorist Addresses Chicago City Council

At a special Chicago City Council briefing, world-renowned elephant behaviorist Joyce Poole, Ph.D., addressed council members on the Parks and Recreation Committee to urge them to support the Elephant Protection Ordinance, which would mandate that any elephant brought into the city be given suitable space, humane living conditions, and safe handling. Dr. Poole provided testimony that elephants in the wild do not suffer the same ailments, such as foot disease, arthritis, weight-related diseases, infertility, heightened aggression, and other neurotic behavior that is experienced by elephants in captivity.

Dr. Poole has studied wild-elephant behavior and communication for 30 years and is a research director of the Amboseli Elephant Research Project in Kenya.

Update: July 27, 2005

Chicago Council Member Introduces Elephant Protection Ordinance

On July 27, 2005, Chicago City Council member Mary Ann Smith of Ward 48, chair of the City Council Parks and Recreation Committee, introduced an Elephant Protection Ordinance and two resolutions, which is an exciting step that could spark progressive change nationwide.

• The Elephant Protection Ordinance mandates that any elephant brought into the city have more suitable space, humane living conditions, and safe handling. Stationary exhibitors would need to provide a minimum of 10 acres per elephant. Traveling exhibitors would need to provide a minimum of 3,600 square feet for a single elephant and an extra 1,800 square feet for each additional elephant. Because of Chicago’s climate, half of the housing must be climate-controlled indoor space.

• One resolution calls on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to improve standards for space and regulations for training, transportation, and handling to better address the physical and psychological needs of elephants. The USDA is responsible for enforcing the federal Animal Welfare Act.

• The second resolution calls on the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) to revise its Standards for Elephant Management and Care to better address the physical and psychological needs of elephants. The AZA is a trade industry organization that accredits zoos.

Now that the ordinance and resolutions have been introduced, they will be voted on in upcoming committee hearings. If the committees vote in support of the ordinance and resolutions, the full City Council will vote on them at a council meeting.

Read PETA's news release.
Read the proposed Elephant Protection Ordinance.
Read the proposed American Zoo and Aquarium resolution.
Read the proposed U.S. Department of Agriculture resolution.

Update: July 2005

Elephant Protection Ordinance

The Chicago City Council will soon be considering an Elephant Protection Ordinance mandating that any elephants brought into the city be provided with many acres to roam and that cruel and painful handling methods used by circuses be prohibited. The ordinance would make Chicago a leader in elephant protection and would ensure that no other elephants will experience the suffering and misery that Peaches, Wankie, and Tatima endured at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

In the wild, elephants walk up to 30 miles per day. This activity is essential for their health and well-being. Lincoln Park Zoo does not have enough space to properly care for elephants. Chicago's long, harsh winters make a bad situation even worse, forcing elephants into even smaller indoor spaces for about half the year.

Elephants, like us, are highly intelligent, social, inquisitive, and sensitive. In zoos and circuses, they often suffer from extreme boredom, captivity-induced health problems, and an array of emotional problems, including "stereotypic" (neurotic) behaviors, despondency, and aggression. Even worse, circuses beat elephants with sharp metal bullhooks and use electric shock on them.

Three circuses—Big Apple Circus, Circus Flora, and the New Cole Bros. Circus—have recently retired their elephant acts. And eight U.S. zoos have already closed their elephant exhibits.