Jordan World Circus to Face PETA Uproar as Fight to Free Abused, Ailing Elephant Comes to Prineville
For Immediate Release:
April 3, 2026
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
On Tuesday, PETA supporters will deploy a 20-foot-tall “crying elephant” outside the Jordan World Circus at the Crook County Fairgrounds to demand the release of Viola—“The Most Desperate Elephant in the World”—who has run from her abusers at least four times. PETA supporters have been following the act across the country, with pleas to “Free Viola,” who is suffering from chronically swollen feet and other painful, debilitating ailments.
Viola was taken from her home and family in Asia as a baby and has spent five decades in chains under the notorious Carson & Barnes Circus—which supplies elephants to the Jordan World Circus. Other animals used by the circus include dogs, ponies, and a snake—and PETA is calling on the Jordan World Circus to join Ringling Bros. and many other circuses by going animal-free for the animals’ safety and the public’s.
“While some people run away to join the circus, Viola the elephant keeps trying to run away from the circus, where she’s spent a lifetime suffering in chains and servitude,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Jordan World Circus to end these archaic and cruel animal acts, and for everyone to stay away until they do.”
Where: Crook County Fairgrounds, at the intersection of Main Street and SE Fairgrounds Access Road, Prineville
When: Tuesday, April 7, 3:30 p.m.
Why: In nature, elephants live in matriarchal herds, protect one another, and share mothering responsibilities for the herds’ babies. Video footage shows the head trainer for Carson & Barnes Circus—which has been cited for nearly 150 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act—instructing trainers to sink sharp, steel-tipped bullhooks into elephants’ flesh and twist them until the animals scream.
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.
