Run, Viola, Run! Four Escapes, Five Decades of Chains, One Last Hope 

Viola knew it was now or never. 

She had tried to escape at least three times before, each attempt ending in defeat, dragged back to the chains and bullhooks that defined her life. But on that day in Butte, Montana, she must have thought that maybe this time, she’d succeed. The ailing elephant bolted, dodging cars in city traffic, moving with urgency and fear as she made yet another desperate bid to outrun her captors. 

But once again, her dash for freedom was crushed. 

A Lifetime in Chains 

Viola didn’t become “The Most Desperate Elephant in the World” by accident. For years, Jordan World Circus exploited elderly elephants like the 56-year-old Viola, forcing them to perform and give rides despite their advanced age and painful foot and joint conditions. The circus leased elephants from the notoriously cruel Carson & Barnes Circus, hauling them from town to town like equipment, stripping them of everything an elephant is meant to be. 

In nature, elephants live in matriarchal herds. They protect one another, share mothering responsibilities, and form bonds that last lifetimes. They mourn their dead and celebrate births with joyous trumpeting. Viola should have known that life. Instead, she knew only concrete, chains, and the sharp bite of the bullhook. 

In 2025 alone, Viola was forced to perform at roughly 200 shows – spending most of the year crammed into trailers, traveling America’s highways. In early 2026, Dr. Chris Draper, an elephant expert with over 25 years of experience in animal welfare science, observed Viola during a performance and noted that she was showing signs of serious leg stiffness and other chronic veterinary issues. Yet she was still forced to carry as many as nine people on her back at once, nearly every single day, a burden that only worsened the pain in her already failing body. 

Progress – but Viola’s Plight Isn’t Over 

Thanks to unrelenting pressure from PETA, including dozens of protests at tour stops across the US and over 600,000 e-mails from PETA supporters, Jordan World Circus dropped elephant acts from its shows. 

But Viola’s suffering isn’t over. She and another elephant, Isa, were returned to Carson & Barnes’ compound in Oklahoma with a name designed to deceive: the “Endangered Ark Foundation.” It sounds like a sanctuary, but it’s actually a roadside zoo that chains elephants and exploits them through “encounters” in which visitors pay to hand-feed, bathe, and pose with them. Dr. Draper visited the facility in March and saw a trainer forcefully using a bullhook on an elderly elephant named Traci, simply because she was trying to stand up during a “bathing” encounter. Such callousness is routine – the elephants must do what they’re told no matter how they’re feeling or how difficult it is for them to move quickly. 

The Dominoes Are Falling 

Another elderly, disabled elephant, Betty, is also off the road thanks to pressure from PETA. As a baby, Betty was taken from Thailand and spent over 50 years being hauled around like cargo in travel trailers to perform in circuses night after night. For the last 40 years, she’s been in chains under the notorious Carden family, which still rents other animals to circuses, including Shrine circuses. The 57-year-old elephant shuffles slowly on her stiff front legs that hurt to bend, drags her trunk on the ground because of apparent paralysis – likely due to being forced to stand on her head and put several tons of weight on her trunk for decades – and is suffering from painful cracks in her toenails. While she’s currently being leased to a roadside zoo in Indiana, PETA is pushing to get Betty to a sanctuary, and we will keep you posted. 

Let’s Get the Elephants Out! 

PETA investigations have exposed what the circus industry tries to hide – that elephants don’t perform because they want to but because they’re beaten, chained, isolated, and terrorized into submission. Public opinion has shifted, thanks in large part to PETA’s persistent advocacy and demonstrations. Nearly 750 venues and dozens of communities across the US prohibit or restrict traveling acts that use animals, as do a dozen entire states, including California, New York, and Washington. Major circuses, including longtime PETA targets Ringling Bros. and UniverSoul Circus, have ended their animal acts entirely. And in Indonesia, PETA Asia helped secure a nationwide ban on elephant rides. 

But for Viola, time is running out.