Will Abused Elephant With History of Escapes Run Amok on McAlester Streets? PETA to Alert Families to Circus Danger
For Immediate Release:
February 19, 2026
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
An elephant who ran panicked through the streets of Butte, Montana, is headed to McAlester. Viola, the “Most Desperate Elephant in the World,” has attempted to escape from her abusers at least four times—but that hasn’t stopped the Jordan World Circus from forcing this 56-year-old elephant to perform at Southeast Expo Center on Monday. To mark the circus’s opening night, PETA supporters will gather outside with a 20-foot-tall “crying elephant” and a giant banner proclaiming, “Free Viola: Beaten and Chained for Circuses” to urge Jordan World Circus to go animal-free—for the animals’ safety and the public’s.
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—and is forced to perform grueling and painful tricks in shows, even while suffering from chronically swollen feet and other painful, debilitating ailments.
“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: Outside Southeast Expo Center, 4500 W. Highway 270 (at the intersection of Jess Dunn Rd. and W. Carl Albert Pkwy.), McAlester
When: Monday, February 23, 6 p.m.
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 more than 100 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.
