VIDEO: Elderly Elephant Forced to Lie in Her Own Waste at Hugo Circus’s Sham ‘Retirement Home’
For Immediate Release:
April 9, 2026
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
An elderly elephant named Traci, struggling to stand so that she can relieve herself, is repeatedly jabbed with a sharp, steel-tipped weapon called a bullhook as a trainer yells, “Traci, lie down!” The trainer twists and wrenches the bullhook into the most sensitive parts of her body until she collapses back onto the ground, soiled with her own waste. A child watching nearby can be heard saying, “She doesn’t want to do it.” New video footage from PETA reveals that this is what passes for “retirement” at Carson & Barnes Circus’s Hugo-based “Endangered Ark Foundation,” where elderly elephants in their late 50s are jabbed with bullhooks and forced into “encounters” with paying visitors—and PETA is calling for criminal charges to be filed against those responsible for the abuse.
The video also shows a trainer forcefully jabbing another elderly elephant, named Whimpy, directly in the ear, causing her to recoil in pain—a technique taught by notorious trainer Tim Frisco, who can also be seen in the footage working at the circus’s compound, and who was caught on camera during a PETA investigation instructing handlers to beat elephants with bullhooks to “make ‘em scream.” Both Traci and Whimpy are shown swaying back and forth, a known sign of psychological distress—as one observer remarks, they’re “probably being mistreated.”
“These elephants were stolen from their families more than fifty years ago and forced into circus shows, and even now they’re not given a moment’s rest, even to relieve themselves,” says PETA Foundation Managing Director of Captive Wildlife Debbie Metzler. “Carson & Barnes is going to use and abuse these elephants until they drop dead, and PETA urges everyone to stay away from this miserable place—and join us in urging Carson & Barnes to send these elephants to an accredited sanctuary where they would get the care they desperately need and experience some peace for the remaining years they have left.”
In nature, elephants live in matriarchal herds, protect one another, and share mothering responsibilities for the herds’ babies. The elephants at the “Endangered Ark Foundation” have been robbed of every choice—trainers dictate where they go, when to stand or lie down, and even when they’re allowed to urinate. In addition to using elephants for pricey bathing encounters and other photo ops, Carson & Barnes—which has been cited for nearly 150 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act—is one of the last remaining suppliers in the country that continues to lease out elephants for traveling circuses.
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.
