Elephant kills groomer in circus accident

[The Straight Story]

Elephant kills groomer in circus accident


WILKES-BARRE, Pa., April 10 (UPI) -- A groomer was killed by a startled African elephant between circus performances in Pennsylvania in what a spokesman said was an accident.

Wilkes-Barre Police Lt. Steve Olshefki said the attack Friday afternoon was apparently triggered when the animal came into contact with some electrical wires, upsetting it, The Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader reported. No one witnessed the stomping.

The Irem Shrine Circus had completed its morning performance at the 109th Armory. The evening performance went on as scheduled, but Dumbo, the only elephant with the circus, did not appear.

"We've asked the circus if they wanted to perform tonight and as true performers they wanted the show to go on," spokesman John Richards said, the Times-Leader reported.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/04/10/Elephant-kills-groomer-in-circus-accident/UPI-35201270915115/

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. I hope they don't 'punish' the elephant. Seems like an accident

[Divine Discontent]

2. um... if no one witnessed the stomping...

how then could they know it was electrical wires that upset him? Maybe he was being beaten?

[secondwind]

3. This poor elephant probably goes through hell every day.....I hate circuses, they

abuse the poor animals so terribly, to get them to perform. Their entire lives consist of long hours on railroad cars, going from state to state, then held in small confined spaces until it is time to go out and "perform" like idiots, then back to the cage, then "perform" again in the afternoon, or even at night again.

Repeat the process. Day in, and day out, week in and week out, until they die.

Cruelty beyond belief.

And Ringling Bros. is the worst....they like to use the "hooks" on baby elephants to train them. :puke:

[flvegan]

6. What you said.

As for the hooks, I don't know if they hurt more or less than beating them with baseball bats over the head. Guess I'm glad I don't.

[Submariner]

4. The circus and zoos suk

All these elephants should go to sanctuaries.

ELE-CAM

http://www.tappedintoelephants.com/asp/index.php

[Crunchy Frog]

5. I HATE those circuses that exploit animals that are supposed to be wild.

Human deaths are to be expected with this sort of thing, and people who work these circuses should know and accept that from the outset. It certainly isn't the animals fault.

[applegrove]

7. I doubt it was an african elephant. Probably an asian one. The african

elephants are to big to be captive.

[marmar]

8. Maybe a circus isn't such a good environment for a huge animal that travels thousands of miles....

..... across the African plains, n'est-ce pas? :think: