Will Ailing Okha Be Forced Back in the Ring? PETA’s Giant ‘Crying Elephant’ to Return to Sarasota
For Immediate Release:
September 30, 2026
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Sarasota hasn’t seen the last of PETA’s life-size “crying elephant.” The towering figure will return to Robarts Arena this weekend as PETA supporters keep up the pressure for Okha, the dangerously overweight, 56-year-old elephant who was just forced to perform there two months ago by Loomis Bros. Circus despite her visible difficulty moving. Now, the annual Showfolks of Sarasota Circus may force the ailing elephant back into the ring, as it did as recently as last year.
Okha has endured decades of abuse at the hands of her exhibitor, Brian Franzen, and his deeply troubling history of animal welfare violations. Bearing a banner proclaiming, “Free Okha: Beaten and Chained for the Circus,” PETA supporters will demand her release to a reputable sanctuary—and urge everyone to steer clear of animal-exploiting circuses.
Where: Outside Robarts Arena at the Sarasota Fairgrounds, 3000 Ringling Blvd. (near Ringling Boulevard and Brink Avenue), Sarasota
When: Friday, Oct. 2, 6:30–7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 3, 1–2:30 p.m. and 6–7:30 p.m.
Why: In nature, elephants live in matriarchal herds, protect one another, and share mothering responsibilities for the herds’ babies. Yet since 2022, Okha has been kept in isolation. While her two companions were sent to locations where they are no longer forced to perform or give rides, Okha continues to spend much of her life confined to a cramped trailer and circus venue parking lots—denied vital companionship and everything natural and important to her.
Loomis Bros. Circus has a long and sordid history of working with abusive exhibitors who routinely beat and whip animals into submission. Franzen has been cited for a litany of federal animal welfare violations, including for keeping tigers in rusty cages and allowing ponies—one of whom died from apparent neglect—to become dehydrated and emaciated.
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.
