I love stories with a happy ending. 59 year old Anne, the last British circus elephant, has been released to a better home. Her story was a harrowing tale. One with horrible beatings by a circus worker. She was kicked and hit and beaten with a pitchfork and other implements. Luckily it was caught on film by Animal Defenders International (ADI) who secretly filmed the abuse from January 21st to February 15th of this year.
After the video footage was released to the public, the Romanian worker was fired from the Bobby Roberts Super Circus, but that did not stop the a huge and justified public outcry. Anne's owners, Bobby and Moira Roberts, then decided to do the right thing and finally let Anne be moved to a more suitable home.
Activists had been fighting for years to have her moved, because over half a century of working for a circus and being kept in a small metal compound or in tiny transport containers, have left her muscles weak and her body riddled with arthritis. She is an elderly elephant that deserves to retire.
Finally, she has her much deserved retirement. On Sunday, April 3rd Anne was moved to the 900 acre Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire. Right now she has a 13 acre enclosure, that will later have central heating, a wading area and swimming pool, and proper fencing built for her and other rescued elephants.
Here are some pictures of her happy and playing in her new enclosure.
Longleat staff say she is settling in and seems to be adjusting well. Watch this video of Anne in her new home.
It makes me so happy to see justice brought to this poor animal. She deserves to live in the right kind of environment, where she can be cared for properly and just be an elephant. Now she doesn't have to work the rest of her life away. To find out more info about Anne's plight see the Daily Mail's stories here and here. And visit Longleat's website for further updates.
Also, here is some other good news, which was brought about by this story. Britain is planning to ban the use of wild animals in circuses. See the full story here.
2 comments:
Thank you so much, Keshyra, for sharing this piece of happy news. It made me cry when I read this post. She looks so happy now. Goodness knows she deserves some brightness and happiness and her life. I always feel so torn when I think of animals in captivity for our viewing pleasure. I feel like I shouldn't be going to zoos or to aquariums. What kind of life is it for these animals on display? Not much of one. Behind bars, no privacy, ogled by all and sundry. Makes me feel guilty. And it makes me so MAD when I hear or see people abusing animals. I literally see red. I don't understand it. So this is a story with a happy ending. I hope she has another 50 years to enjoy it!
Thanks Kyra, I agree. I have some pictures of me as a child holding and feeding a baby tiger and a baby leopard at a mall. And sure it was cute but so unnecessary. I, in all of my naivety, thought that people didn't do that kind of thing anymore (bring baby wild animals to malls for people to pet and photograph) but they do. And it's so wrong, wild animals belong in the wild. They should not be toted around from place to place to be viewed for our pleasure. They do not belong in small cages where they can't walk around and run free. What kind of life is that? I feel so bad for these animals. Having wild animals in circuses and traveling shows should be banned world wide.
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