Animal groups to protest elephant rides at Renaissance Festival

Shakopee Valley News

Two animal rights groups plan to protest the elephant rides at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival on Sept. 10.

Animal Defenders International is partnering with the Animal Rights Coalition on the protest from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., saying the festival gets their elephants from Trunks and Humps, where they allege elephants are physically abused.

"Patrons of that event deserve to make an informed choice before they decide to pay for a ride on the back of these elephants, that are provided by Trunks and Humps, to know the public safety risk and also the humane concerns," Animal Defenders International Campaigns Director Matt Rossell said in an interview.

Animal Defenders International has video of the owners of Trunks and Humps allegedly abusing an elephant named Chrissy with devices like bull hooks and stun guns, Rossell said.

"The public is really starting to understand that the training is often abusive, that these animals' needs are not getting met when they're traveling from place to place," he said.

Minnesota Renaissance Festival Artistic Director Carr Hagerman said the abuse allegations are "categorically inaccurate."

"Most of the performers and the artists that travel around the country know the family (the owners of Trunks and Humps), know these elephants and live around us," Hagerman said. "There is likely not a less tolerant community for abuse than artists and performers. I can say with confidence that these elephants are not abused and have not been abused."

Hagerman said if he knew or believed the elephants were being abused or there was a violation of animal ethics, he would speak up about it — he's a vegan, a dog photographer and an "ardent supporter" of animal rights, he said.

The elephants in the video are completely different than the elephants at the Renaissance Festival or even the ones involved with Trunks and Humps.

"Virtually all those elephants in that video have nothing to do with these elephants," he said.

Rossell contends elephants are not safe for the public to interact with and ride on.

"Elephants are wild animals, they're not domesticated," he said. "There's no amount of breeding them or them living with people that have made them into tame, domestic animals."

Even in zoos, elephants rarely share open spaces with elephant handlers, according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Standard for Elephant Management and Care.

"All institutions must have in place and be implementing adequate infrastructure to manage and care for elephants with barriers and/or restraints in place to increase employee safety," according to the standards. "Adequate infrastructure exists and is used by elephant care providers to care for their elephants without sharing the same unrestricted space with the elephants."

The Renaissance Festival does not have the necessary safety requirements, Rossell said.

"None of the barriers at the Renaissance Festival would stop an elephant," he said.

The elephants at the festival have never harmed anyone and would not harm anyone, Hagerman said.

"These elephants have never hurt anyone," Hagerman said. "They've never been involved in storming anyone. They've never been involved in breaking any barrier and we're quite comfortable with the setup as it is."

The problem is not necessarily with the Renaissance Festival itself, but with the company that provides the elephant — any abuse of the animal would take place behind closed doors due to the nature of the business and the festival wouldn't be involved in the training, Rossell said.

"You're not likely to see them abusing the elephant in public," he said. "They obviously know they can't do that because people wouldn't stand for it, so the severe training always happens behind the scenes."

Elephants at a Renaissance Festival don't even make sense, Rossell said.

"There weren't elephants in the Renaissance, it doesn't historically make sense," he said. "We think this one part of the festival could easily be removed. It puts a black mark on what would otherwise be a good event."

Rossell said his group has witnessed other inhumane activities, such as chaining elephants for up to 12 hours a day or allowing public to feed the animals.

Hagerman said the elephants are no longer chained up when the elephants are in the central area and that the elephants only work two days a week.

The elephants at the festival can make a lasting impression on lives and create interest in elephant conservation, he said.

"(The festival) is the only place a child is going to hope to make a connection," Hagerman said. "It's not going to be by looking at pictures in National Geographic. It's going to be walking up and seeing one of these animals close up."