A Life in Chains: Fight for Viola the Elephant’s Freedom
When Viola was just a toddler, she should have spent her days roughhousing with her siblings and being lovingly nurtured by her mom and aunties in her lush Asian jungle home. But instead, Viola was stolen from everything that gave her life meaning as an infant, and has spent the last five decades in chains and servitude to the Carson & Barnes Circus.
Carson & Barnes Circus supplies elephants to the Jordan World Circus (including Shrine-sponsored shows). Jordan World Circus is hauling this elderly elephant around the country right now. In show after show, they force Viola to perform physically demanding tricks. A 2021 PETA investigation found Viola suffering from swollen feet, and she showed signs of painful foot or joint disease—conditions that can be deadly to elephants.
Viola has escaped from her abusers at least four times, including an attempt in April 2024 in Montana. She was twice injured as she fled through the streets, including when she escaped the Moolah Shrine Circus in Missouri. In January 2023, that circus stopped using elephants.
We are suspending our protests against Jordan World Circus’s elephant acts, as the circus’s ticketing provider has stated that Viola and other elephants will not be forced to perform in its shows for the rest of the year. PETA will closely monitor the circus to ensure elephants do not return to the lineup, and we will continue pressing for Viola’s retirement to a true sanctuary.
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