PETA Statement: Elephant Truck Fire Is a Reminder to Stay Away From Roadside Zoos

For Immediate Release:
November 20, 2017

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Chattanooga, Tenn. –

Below, please find a statement from PETA Foundation Associate Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Rachel Mathews in response to the truck fire that left three elephants stranded on the side of Interstate 24, west of Chattanooga, Tennessee:

While elephants in nature walk up to 30 miles a day, animal exhibitors chain them up inside cramped trailers to haul them across the country, putting their lives at risk. Circus trains have crashed, animals have been trapped inside overturned trailers, elephants have been used as living car jacks, tigers have been left without water while their handlers slept nearby, and one tiger this summer was shot after she escaped at a truck stop. This total disregard for animals’ well-being is why PETA urges everyone to stay away from all circuses and roadside zoos where exotic animals are on display.

PETA’s motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment.”