Violent, physical abuse remains a common method of training and controlling elephants and other animals in the circus. In 2003, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited Cole Bros. after a handler struck an elephant twice with a broom handle. In 2000, USDA inspectors noted that two Cole Bros. elephants had bullhook scars. In 1999, the USDA charged Cole Bros. with violating the Animal Welfare Act; USDA undersecretary Michael Dunn stated, “We believe that on numerous occasions, employees of the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus abusively used an elephant hook on several animals” (the circus settled the charges by agreeing to spend $10,000 to improve elephant care).

Sad life continues for former Swap Shop elephants
In August 2005, animal advocates in south Florida celebrated when the Hanneford Family Circus was evicted from Fort Lauderdale's Swap Shop flea market after 15 years of daily performances. The campaign against the Swap Shop circus was one of ARFF’s longest. It was a victory when the Swap Shop finally ended their financial support of the circus; unfortunately, life for its animals did not improve. The Hanneford Family Circus' three elephants— "Carol," "Liz" and "Patty"— are now traveling with the Cole Bros. Circus.
(photo: George Hanneford III, November 2007)

As with the majority of elephants used in circuses, Carol, Liz and Patty were taken from the wild when they were babies. The Hanneford family obtained the elephants in Bangkok, Thailand in the early 1970s, before Asian elephants were declared an Endangered Species. At the time, it was not uncommon for poachers to bring elephant calves to the city for sale to unscrupulus circuses. Only a few months old, the three elephants were shipped to the United States where they were trained to perform unnatural and degrading tricks.

For the elephants, decades of life with the circus has resulted in captivity-induced health problems. During an inspection by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a veterinarian noted, "problems with foot condition, of all three elephants."

Elephants used in circuses are also a public safety risk. In 1990, Carol crushed a circus worker to death.

Progress. Although Cole Bros. has resisted calls to abandon its use of exotic animals, the circus has been forced to make changes. For years, the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida protested the annual Cole Bros. Circus performance in the City of Coral Springs. In November 2006, the city and local sponsors of the circus agreed on a compromise— if the circus chose to perform in Coral Springs it could not bring its elephants to the city. Similarly, in March 2007, a permit granted to Cole Bros. allowed the circus to perform in Palm Coast, but stipulated that Cole Bros. could not bring elephants, big cats and camels to the city.

Animal-free circuses are becoming more popular, but Cole Bros. is struggling to attract an audience. In November 2007, the Orlando Sentinel wrote about a Cole Bros. performance in Daytona Beach. Despite the circus distributing 60,000 (!) free children's tickets, "plenty of seats were still empty." A trapeze artist with the circus described the mood, "I get a little depressed when there's no people."

Circus' Aging Elephants Deserve Retirement
Each year the Cole Bros. Circus travels thousands of miles across the eastern U.S. with a menagerie of animals including elephants. During the circus' 2006 tour through Florida, we were very concerned about the health of two female Asian elephants, “Tina” and “Jewel." While traveling, Tina and Jewel, ages 40 and 42, were kept chained in a cramped semi-trailer. (photo: "home" for Tina and Jewel)

While performing with the circus in April 2007 in North Carolina, a USDA inspection determined that both elephants showed "an alarming amount of weight loss" and that "Jewel was not fit to continue traveling with the circus." Both animals were pulled from the traveling show. Unfortunately, Tina and Jewel now languish at a substandard facility in Texas, and the circus quickly replaced them with elephants from the Hanneford Family Circus.