PETA, ARFF Supporters Will Razz Renaissance Festival Over Cruel Elephant Rides

For Immediate Release:
February 13, 2025

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Dade City, Fla. –

Led by an elephant mascot, PETA and Animal Rights Foundation of Florida supporters will converge outside the Bay Area Renaissance Festival on Saturday to warn fairgoers that the event’s elephant rides are truly medievil. The protestors will make it clear to attendees that captive elephant trainers use bullhooks—weapons resembling a fireplace poker with a sharp hook on one end—to beat and intimidate elephants, who “perform” and “behave” out of fear of pain and who, as herd animals and matriarchs, suffer immensely from being isolated in captivity, as well as dragged from town to town, and forced to give rides, some of which have ended in disaster.

“Elephants are wild animals who belong with their families in nature, and yet those used for entertainment are kept in chains between gigs, denied all that gives their lives meaning, beaten into submission, and treated as something to make a profit from,” says PETA Foundation Senior Director of Captive Wildlife Debbie Metzler. “PETA is calling on the Bay Area Renaissance Festival to show noble elephants the respect they deserve and reject these abusive spectacles.”

Where: Outside the Bay Area Renaissance Festival, 12838 Auton Road, Dade City

When: Saturday, February 15, 12 noon

*Credit: PETA* *PETA’s “elephant” mascot leads animal allies in protesting the exploitative rides during a previous demonstration.*

Why: In nature, elephants spend their days socializing, playing, and bathing in rivers, and can roam up to 30 miles each day. Elephants used for fairs are often chained on hard concrete floors at night and routinely suffer from painful and debilitating joint and foot problems. Many sway back and forth endlessly—a symptom of severe psychological distress caused by the extreme stress and frustration of captivity. Interactions with captive elephants are also dangerous to humans, as they pose the risk of serious injury and disease transmission.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.