Queenie Left Behind in Deplorable Conditions. She Needs Our Help Now.

                   Tina and Jewel Freed From Abusive Circus Handler

                 But Queenie Is Left Behind – She Needs Your Help NOW!

A letter to Acting APHIS Administrator, Kevin Shea, is provided below.  But please, consider making contact with the other individuals listed below.

Tina, Jewel and Queenie are three wild-caught Asian elephants who endured a lifetime of ill-treatment at the hands of the circus industry.

For decades the sad lives of these elephants never changed: Day after day, town after town, they were crammed into the back of a trailer, trucked from town to town, and confined to a tiny pen where they swayed neurotically, chained for 12 or more hours per day. They suffered all this for five minutes of performance time each show, forced to do dangerous tricks, under threat from their bullhook-wielding handler.

Shockingly, the "owners" of these elephants, the notorious Davenport circus family, had been allowed to continue to exhibit them despite egregious and chronic violations of federal law.

Emaciated elephants ordered off the road

In April 2007, the USDA barred travel for Tina and Jewel due to severe weight loss in both elephants; Jewel was particularly emaciated. Six months later, the USDA reauthorized travel. Even though the cause of the elephants' weight loss had not been diagnosed, by November 2007 Tina, Jewel and Queenie were back on the road, under the control of their handler, Will Davenport.

But Davenport continued to fail to comply with basic standards of elephant care and handling. By March 2009, all three elephants were suffering alarming weight loss – over a ton combined in less than a year.

IDA to the rescue

Since July 2007, when our investigator located Tina and Jewel in Leggett, Texas, IDA has worked to rescue these three long-suffering elephants. With the help of our members, we monitored them as they traveled around the country with various circuses, and filed complaint after complaint with the USDA, urging the agency to take action to remove them from Davenport.

IDA also filed the complaint with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) that led to charges against the Davenports for violating the Endangered Species Act by illegally purchasing Tina and Jewel from Cole Brothers Circus without a permit.

On August 20, 2009, our efforts on behalf of two of the elephants paid off.

Tina and Jewel taken to safety

In the heat of the East Texas summer, the USDA, acting in conjunction with the USFWS, sent federal marshals to Leggett to remove Tina and Jewel from the Davenports' custody. After refusing to comply with the USDA's first confiscation attempt, Davenport finally ceded control of the elephants to the federal agents, who sent them to the San Diego Zoo. While IDA would have preferred that the elephants be transferred to a sanctuary, we recognize that the zoo is providing these long-suffering elephants with desperately needed veterinary care. At the San Diego Zoo, Tina and Jewel are being handled in protected contact, free from beatings, domination and the misery of circus life.

The fight for Queenie continues

Unfortunately, the USDA claimed to lack a legal basis for confiscating Queenie in August, so she was left behind, chained to a tree on Davenport's property. (Read more about Queenie's background here.) IDA is extremely concerned about her well-being, and we have been urging our members to continue putting pressure on the USDA to return to Leggett and help Queenie. We’re happy to report that the calls and emails are working. In September 2009, the agency took an important step toward Queenie's rescue...

USDA files elephant abuse charges against Davenport

On September 25, 2009, the USDA filed formal charges against Will Davenport (d/b/a Maximus Tons of Fun) for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act in his abusive and negligent treatment of Tina, Jewel and Queenie. Davenport also faces charges for defying federal officials in their two attempts to remove Jewel and Tina from Davenport's property.

The complaint alleges 19 violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), stating that “the gravity of the violations alleged…is great” and that Davenport has “not shown good faith” in his repeated unwillingness to comply with the act and regulations. IDA is now requesting that the USDA bring the full force of the law to bear on Davenport in order to gain custody of Queenie and send her to a sanctuary.

The thousands of calls, emails and faxes from IDA members and other concerned citizens clearly have had an impact in this case. We need to keep the pressure on the USDA until Queenie is safely out of Davenport's hands and in the safety of a sanctuary where she can live her final years in peace.

What You Can Do

Please make a phone call or send a fax today!

Even if you have already called the USDA, please take a moment today to leave a telephone message for the Secretary of Agriculture, and email the Acting Administrator of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Urge the agency to press for Queenie's immediate release from Davenport's custody to a sanctuary where her safety and well-being can be assured.

Tell the USDA:

You commend the agency's filing of charges against Davenport. However, it is now even more inconceivable that the agency would leave Queenie in the "care" the man charged with so many serious AWA violations.The USDA's Complaint provides a clear avenue for helping Queenie, and the agency must now ensure that Davenport gives up his ownership of her, and facilitate her transfer to either the PAWS sanctuary in California or The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, both of which stand ready to accept Queenie.There is no excuse for sending Queenie to a zoo. She has been on display long enough and deserves a peaceful retirement.

USDA Contact Information:

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
Phone: 202 720-3631, Fax: 202-720-2166

Acting APHIS Administrator Kevin Shea
Phone: 202-720-3861 Email: Kevin.A.Shea@usda.gov

Contact Congress Too!

As your Congressperson and Senators to contact Secretary Vilsack in support of Queenie's rescue and transfer to a sanctuary. If they have been responsive in the past, be sure to thank them for their previous help in securing Tina and Jewel’s confiscation, but let them know that Queenie has been left behind in dire circumstances.

Find your federal representatives here:
http://ida.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=electedOfficials

Please continue to call and email these officials until Queenie is safely housed at the PAWS sanctuary in California or The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

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