I would just like to address the so called “Elephant Preserve” in Texas. There are videos of the owners and employees (under their former name “Have Trunk Will Travel”) abusing, beating, and poking the elephants to get them to show paying customers “tricks”.
       Elephants are creatures that should be respected and in the wild where they belong. No one wants to see animals get abused then touched/handled by people every day. Yes, you may enjoy the hands-on experience, but did you ever think that the elephants didn’t?
        The tools they are using are called “bull hooks”. They use these tools to hit and jab the elephants in sensitive spots so they do what they want them to. If you listen during the videos, you can hear the elephants cry in pain when they whack them. They are called “The Preserve” and they relocated to Stonewall, Texas, possibly due to lax Texas laws. 
          We are writing our Texas representatives to ask for a bill to ban use of bull hooks in the state. PLEASE sign the petition and/or write your representatives so we can end the abuse of these magical animals.