Lota the elephant has endured a miserable life in captivity for nearly fifty years, and it's time for her to be given sanctuary. Lota, who was born in the wild, was captured in 1954. In 1990, the Hawthorn Corporation got Lota from the Milwaukee Zoo when it no longer wanted her. The Hawthorne Corporation rents captive tigers and elephants to circuses and other animal shows.
Since being in Hawthorn's care, Lota has been performing circus tricks and subjected to a life on the road that has apparently adversely affected her health. This past April the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) filed charges against Hawthorn for numerous violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including a failure to provide veterinary care for Lota. The USDA has also found evidence that Lota has suffered from tuberculosis and weight loss so severe that her spine and hip bones are protruding.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Please urge the USDA to aggressively prosecute Hawthorn Corporation for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Also ask them to confiscate Lota and have her transferred to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, which has offered to accept her. There Lota will be able to live free of shackles and chains, eat a proper diet, and enjoy elephant companions.
The Honorable Ann M. Veneman
Secretary of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave. S.W., Rm. 200-A
Washington, DC 20250
Fax: 202-720-6314
Email: agsec@usda.gov
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