Dear friends,
CompassionWorks International has launched a new campaign in support of our efforts to help Minnie who remains captive in a barn in Connecticut.
While Minnie is alone in her barn, sadly, Minnie is not alone in her plight. There are four other singly-held female elephants living in the United States!
In the wild, female elephants live in herds. They support, defend, and raise their offspring together. Scientific studies have determined that female elephants living in smaller herds experience greater stress than those in larger groups.
Imagine the stress of living with no one else in conditions wholly unsuited for elephant welfare!
Denying female elephants the companionship of other elephants is unnatural and cruel.
CWI has launched a new campaign in support of Asha, Bubbles, Minnie, Lady Essex and Okha, and we “increased our herd” by inviting a special group to join us. We drafted a letter to the USDA demanding that they immediately implement a ban on the keeping of singly-held elephants, and—to date—SIXTY-TWO veterinarians have signed in support!
The USDA has a long history of failing elephants. Since we began our campaign, Asha was mysteriously relocated from the Natural Bridge Zoo to a terrible elephant captivity facility. The transfer took place just two weeks before a raid was conducted on the zoo by the State of Virginia. The raid was the result of information obtained from a whistleblower who came forward to detail the horrors of life at the zoo. Asha is reported to have been "chained and shackled" and living in her own waste.
Yet during the same period the whistleblower described, the USDA had inspected the facility and DID NOTHING.
It is time that the USDA sided with the ANIMALS, NOT THE ABUSERS.
After the start of the year we will submit our letter to the USDA, and then we will ask all of you to join us in speaking out. Look for an action alert on our newest campaign—including a new website—in the coming weeks!
Please support our efforts for Minnie as well as Asha, Bubbles, Lady Essex and Okha by donating to CWI today. Your tax-deductible donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $15,000 by a generous CWI supporter! Please act soon as we must make our match by December 31!
Thank you for caring about Minnie and the plight of captive elephants. From the CWI family to yours, we wish you a happy and safe holiday season and all the best in the new year.
For the animals,
Carrie LeBlanc, M.A.
Executive Director
CompassionWorks International