Please Do Not Tap On the Glass

My newly-vegan colleague and I went down to the courthouse this morning to meet another AR activist/vegan friend to witness part of the much-anticipated Ringling elephant abuse trial. We got there around 9:45 a.m. and after getting through security and having my cell phone and ID placed in a locker, we made our way to the courtroom.

The side where the plaintiff’s legal team was sitting was already filling when I found my friend holding a couple of spots in the pew for us. By the time the judge appeared we were sitting close together to allow other members of Team Eles to sit with us.

We sat down and got our coats off and I asked “Where’s Joyce?” Dr. Joyce Poole, who blogs at Wildlife Direct, is an outstanding expert on elephant behavior and communication with 30 years experience with wild eles. My friend pointed to a tiny woman next to her. So I gave my name and shook her hand. Joyce looked a bit flummoxed. (So did Capt. Watson when I shook his hand last summer … I must have an unsettling affect on people.)

By the time the judge showed up, 10:30 a.m. because he had another case, our side of the courtroom was full of skinny vegans, a mother with her two young sons, and me. I felt like the ele-sized vegan in the room!

So, the lawyers had to get their preliminary business with the judge done and the plaintiff’s opening statement didn’t start until around 10:45 a.m. Their head lawyer spoke for about 45 minutes and had slides and video clips that we could sorta see on a monitor across the room. I’ve thought all along the premise for their case is going to be difficult to prove – that the ESA definition of a “take” means more than just killing an endangered species, but harming them in other ways, however she gave a very sincere opening and the judge stopped to ask a couple of questions. the plaintiffs also have an impressive list of expert witnesses, eye witnesses including former Ringling employees (Tom Rider is one of the plaintiffs), as well as a woman from the Oakland Zoo and Carol Buckley of The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee.

The plaintiff’s head lawyer brought some of the chains that Ringling uses on the eles when they’re on the trains, and she also had a bullhook. Hideous weapon. She showed clips of eles displaying stereotypical behaviors such as swaying their heads and trunks back and forth and nodding. She also showed how their feet look when chained in place. Until the opening statement, I was unaware that Feld Entertainment chains female eles at their so-called Center for Elephant Conservation who are giving birth, and separates the babies from their mothers before they’re properly weaned in order to start training them for life in the circus. Despicable.

Next up was the defendant’s opening statement, delivered by an older gentlemen with a vague Southern drawl who is clearly an upper level demon. His strategy, it appeared, was to deliver his statement as dismissively and arrogantly as possible. He succeeded. No videos or other clips, just a boring old Powerpoint with text only and he disparaged every single witness for the plaintiffs – except Joyce – by claiming that because they have no experience training elephants for the circus that they can’t possibly be experts on elephants. You should’ve heard the whispering in our section every time he made one of these ridiculous statements posing as truth. Judge Sullivan looked bored.

Feld’s argument seems to be that because the USDA – that paragon of virtue in animal welfare – refused to bring any charges against Ringling, that they’re doing everything right for the elephants. He stated SEVERAL times that elephants in captivity and forced to perform in circuses are far better off than elephants in the wild. You could hear the jaws drop.

He mentioned a video that the plaintiff’s will show at some point that starts with a bull elephant with big tusks coming out of a misty jungle – with a bullet in his head from poachers. He then tells us that this elephant took four months to die. He didn’t really make a point there but I guess he was trying to show that in the wild an elephant can take four months to die from human intervention, but Ringling can kill them much quicker.

My new friend ammcomms commented on this post with information I can’t believe I forgot, including the demon’s parting shot as he ended his statement:

And the Ringling/Feld “bring it on!!” lawyer did show a video — remember? There were about 8 eles in a row bobbing and swaying and he announced, “You can tell they’re in outstanding health just by looking at them!” Whereby Judge Sullivan interjected, “Wait — how can I tell they’re in outstanding health just by looking at them??” I thought it was one of the highlights of the morning.

My colleague and I had to leave at noon and they weren’t set up yet for Joyce’s testimony, which was going to take about two hours. So we missed that but I’ll stay in touch with the other people I met and try to get down there for some of the other key testimony, such as Tom Rider and Carol Buckley. If you’re in the area, you should check the court docket for Judge Sullivan and try to witness part of this historic case.

s.

Filed under: animal rights, endangered species Tagged: | animal cruelty, animal rights, Elephants, ringling elephant trial