Nosey the Elephant Remains Out of Reach of Abusive Former Handlers After Court Decision

A Lawrence County District Court judge ordered that Nosey the elephant wouldn’t be returned to her abusive former handlers, Hugo and Franciszka Liebel. The judge’s order granted custody to the county’s animal control officer, who placed Nosey at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee in November 2017, after she was first seized. Sanctuary vets found that Nosey had urinary tract and skin infections, intestinal parasites, and painful osteoarthritis and showed signs of dehydration and malnutrition. At the sanctuary, she receives daily veterinary care for her ailments. For the first time, she also has the freedom to care for herself and just to be an elephant—she can scratch on trees, take dust baths, wallow in the mud, and roam across the sanctuary’s habitat.