The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) is offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person who has neglected, harmed or mistreated an elephant on the set of any film or television production this year. The reward was offered up after reports of abuse and disturbing video footage were released that show elephant Tai being shocked with an electric prodder and beaten during a training session with “Have Trunk Will Travel.” The Southern California-based elephant rental company trains elephants for Hollywood productions; Tai appeared in the recent production Water for Elephants and will also appear in the upcoming film, Zookeeper. Video footage of Tai released in 2005 is no longer permissible as criminal evidence because of the California statute of limitations for this type of abuse. However, ALDF believes that “the use of bullhooks, electrical shocks and other painful training techniques appear to be standard practice in elephant training” and aim to uncover and punish abuse to the full extent of the law. Watch the video here “Elephants are wild animals, not actors,” said ALDF Executive Director Stephen Wells, “and the barbaric techniques routinely used to force elephants to learn tricks can qualify as abuse under California law. That's why ALDF is offering a $10,000 reward to anyone—including actors, camera operators, make-up artists, and editors—who has witnessed mistreatment of elephants on set first-hand or can otherwise provide information leading to the arrest and conviction of elephant abusers.” Another animal rights organization, Animal Defenders International (ADI) has also filed a fraud suit against Have Trunk Will Travel, stating that the company “duped” the public by leading them to believe that Tai was treated humanely during the filming of Water for Elephants. Have Trunk Will Travel released a statement responding to the alleged abuse by with ALDF and ADI saying “Have Trunk Will Travel has never issued a written endorsement, nor does it condone using electrical devices to discipline and control elephants except in situations where elephant or human safety is at risk.” Still, ALDF requests that if citizens who have witnessed mistreatment or abuse of an elephant on set contact them at 707-795-2533, x1035, or at [email protected]. They note that those whistle-blowers may remain anonymous. BM
