For years, Have Trunk Will Travel (HTWT) profited by exploiting elephants for rides, TV shows, and parades. Their so-called “entertainment” business relied on pain and fear—using bullhooks, electric prods, and other cruel tools to force these majestic animals to perform tricks no wild elephant would ever do. When growing public outrage caught up with them, they didn’t stop. They just rebranded.

Now operating under the name The Preserve in Fredericksburg, Texas, this facility is pretending to be something it’s not. They claim to offer a peaceful life for elephants. In truth, they still make them play harmonicas, paint, and pose for photos, acts that only happen through fear and coercion. Trainers are still seen carrying bullhooks and other tools of control.

The abuse didn’t end; it just got a new name.

Two elephants, Tai and Dixie, died at The Preserve after spending their entire lives being beaten, chained, and paraded around for entertainment. Both were stolen from the wild as babies. They never got to experience life as elephants—never got to roam, play, or build bonds with their herds like they would in nature.

Now, elephants like Kitty, Rosie, and Becky are still stuck there, enduring the same conditions. They deserve better. They deserve freedom, safety, and dignity. And that can only happen at an accredited sanctuary, not at a tourist trap pretending to care.

We’re calling on The Preserve to do the right thing. Retire the remaining elephants to a true sanctuary where they can live the rest of their lives in peace—without chains, without bullhooks, and without performances. It’s too late to save Tai and Dixie. But it’s not too late to give the others the future they deserve.

Sign this petition if you believe elephants belong in sanctuaries, not in staged photo ops or forced performances. Together, we can end this cruelty for good.

 
 Photo: PETA