The elephants used in Shrine circus shows today are victims of kidnapping. As babies in the 1960s and ’70s, they were torn from their homes and families in Asia. Animal dealers packed them into crates and shipped them abroad into terrifying and unfamiliar environments. They were sold to merciless people who beat them, ignored their cries, and deprived them of everything that’s natural and important to them.
If these vulnerable elephants had grown up with their families, their lives today would be different. They would live in (and maybe even lead) matriarchal herds, protect one another, forage for fresh vegetation, play, bathe in rivers, and share mothering responsibilities for the herds’ babies.
Now the best places for these victims are accredited elephant sanctuaries, where they could spend the rest of their lives in peace. Yet it seems that Shrine circuses and the exhibitors they hire would rather keep them suffering in pointless shows.
More on Shrine Circuses’ Exhibitors
Shrine circuses’ exhibitors include Carson & Barnes Circus, Carden Circus, Tarzan Zerbini Circus, and Franzen Bros. Circus, each of which has a long history of receiving federal citations for abusing the animals in their charge and keeping them in poor conditions.
Handlers from these shady operations have punished elephants barbarically whenever they attempted to engage in instinctive, natural behavior. These vulnerable victims are compelled by the constant threat of violence.
Meet the Elephants Used in Shrine Circuses
These elderly female elephants have spent their lives knowing nothing but fear and misery. Although they can’t be released back into nature, they could still enjoy happy lives free of abuse at accredited sanctuaries.
Becky
Age: ~52
Capture location: Asia (country unknown)
Current exhibitor: Carson & Barnes
Recent Shrine circus appearances: 3+
Carson & Barnes Circus’ head abuser was caught on camera instructing other handlers to sink sharp steel-tipped weapons known as bullhooks into elephants’ flesh in order to “make ’em scream.”
Becky can be heard crying out in pain in the background of this video:
Circuses have used the same methods of domination and abuse for decades—and the same man who commanded exhibitors to smack, jab, and torment Becky in that video over 25 years ago still bullies elephants into “performing” at Shrine circus shows.
Becky has been forced to do tricks for the Ararat Shrine Circus in Missouri and was one of several elephants compelled to “perform” in the Hadi Shrine Circus in Indiana under threat of violence. In April 2024, the Hadi Shrine Circus committed to no longer using elephants.
Betty
Age: ~55
Capture location: Thailand
Current exhibitor: Carden Circus
Recent Shrine circus appearances: 18+
Carden Circus has kept Betty prisoner for nearly 40 years. Agonizing pain is her only reward, and the abuse she endures includes being forced to perform uncomfortable, confusing, and painful tricks.
Her exhibitors drag her to dozens of shows every year without an end in sight, even as her health rapidly declines. Betty has previously tested reactive for tuberculosis, and now she has difficulty moving her legs and apparently suffers from trunk paralysis.
Viola
Age: ~55
Capture location: Asia (country unknown)
Current exhibitor: Carson & Barnes
Recent Shrine circus appearances: 20+
A 2021 PETA investigation found Viola suffering from swollen feet, and she showed signs of painful foot or joint disease—conditions that doubtlessly made her miserable and which can be deadly to elephants.
Viola has also escaped from her abusers at least three times, including once in April 2024 in Montana. On at least two occasions, she was injured as she fled through the streets, including once when she escaped the Moolah Shrine Circus in Missouri. In January 2023, that circus stopped using elephants.
Viola is currently being forced to tour with Jordan World Circus, which produces a high number of Shrine circus shows.
Other Elephants Exploited in Shrine Circuses
Bunny
Age: ~56
Capture location: Asia (country unknown)
Current exhibitor: Carson & Barnes Circus
Recent Shrine circus appearances: 2+
Bunny has suffered for at least 40 years as a prisoner of Carson & Barnes Circus, which has failed to provide her with proper veterinary care, once leaving her with limited range of motion in one leg.
One handler at Carson & Barnes electroshocked her with a stun gun to “warm her up” before shows, keeping her in a state of fear and pain to ensure her compliance. He chose this method specifically because it wouldn’t leave visible blood, which spectators might see.
Bunny escaped from her abusers once, fleeing through a Canadian town and into a suburb before she was recaptured.
Chang
Age: ~52
Capture location: Cambodia
Current exhibitor: Carson & Barnes Circus
Recent Shrine circus appearances: 10+
Carson & Barnes has tormented Chang for almost 30 years. Workers have hit her, electroshocked her, and forced her to submit to exhibitors’ every whim.
Elephants who live in their natural environments rely on the wisdom of elder community members. Had Chang been left with her family as a baby, she might have become a grandmother.
Cindy
Age: ~53
Capture location: Thailand
Current exhibitor: Carden Circus
Recent Shrine circus appearances: 3+
The Carden Circus has tormented Cindy for decades. The feds cited the company for failing to protect animals and the public after employees left the elephants—including Cindy—unattended during intermission, putting everyone at risk of serious injury.
Since 1978, incidents with captive elephants have caused 22 human deaths and over 140 injuries to humans in North America alone.
Isa
Age: ~57
Capture location: Asia (country unknown)
Current exhibitor: Carson & Barnes Circus
Recent Shrine circus appearances: 4+
Isa is a longtime victim of Carson & Barnes. A 2021 PETA investigation found her suffering from swollen feet and deformed toenails. Foot problems are likely painful and can be deadly to elephants.
Isa escaped from her handlers when she was frightened by a crowd at the Moolah Shrine Circus in 2014.
If she were in an accredited sanctuary, Isa wouldn’t be forced to remain in conditions that terrify her and she’d be able to seek out the comfort of her friends. Instead, Carson & Barnes has condemned her to a life of fear and pain.
Isla
Age: ~56
Capture location: Asia (country unknown)
Current exhibitor: Carson & Barnes Circus
Recent Shrine circus appearances: 10+
In 2017, Isla removed fellow elephant Kelly’s leg restraints when they were housed together in a Wisconsin barn overnight. Kelly then escaped into a nearby neighborhood.
Isla’s act of kindness is just one example of how elephants cooperate and collaborate. In the wild, instead of helping each other break free of shackles and restraints, they’d typically work together to find food and protect one another from danger.
Janice
Age: ~53
Capture location: Thailand
Current exhibitor: Carden Circus
Recent Shrine circus appearances: 4+
At Carden Circus shows—as at all events that exploit animals—elephants’ well-being is barely even an afterthought. Carden, one of the most active Shrine circus producers, has kept Janice in misery for decades.
Even though she was suffering from foot pain, Carden’s exhibitors denied her proper care and relief. She was observed swaying back and forth out of evident psychological distress at a Shrine circus in 2022.
Janice even tested reactive for tuberculosis under Carden’s watch.
Kelly
Age: ~54
Capture location: Asia (country unknown)
Current exhibitor: Carson & Barnes Circus
Recent Shrine circus appearances: 5+
Kelly is one of the few elephants who have managed to escape repeatedly from their abusers at Carson & Barnes.
She made one of her desperate bids for freedom when she became overwhelmed by the pandemonium of the crowd at a Moolah Shrine Circus show. She was injured as she bolted through the streets of St. Charles, Missouri, frantically searching for safety.
Lulu
Age: ~50
Capture location: India
Current exhibitor: Carson & Barnes Circus
Recent Shrine circus appearances: 10+
Lulu has endured nearly 30 years of abuse from Carson & Barnes—including hitting, whipping, and verbal assault.
When they’re not traveling, Carson & Barnes keeps Lulu and other elephants at the deceptively named Endangered Ark Foundation, a shoddy roadside zoo in Oklahoma that operates under the same exhibitor’s license as the circus.
This facility postures as a public education and conservation organization working to benefit elephants—but it’s nothing of the sort. The seedy operation chains elephants, breeds them, and uses them for all sorts of encounters with visitors.
This sham “retirement ranch” arrogantly claims to be “dedicated to ensuring the future of Asian elephants in North America”—but ask yourself, is living in extreme captivity better for elephants than remaining with their families in their natural homes?
Marie
Age: ~51
Capture location: Asia (country unknown)
Current exhibitor: Tarzan Zerbini Circus
Recent Shrine circus appearances: 1+
When Marie isn’t forced to “perform” by the Tarzan Zerbini Circus, workers thrust her into uncomfortable photo ops and encounters with the public that it calls “extreme” at Two Tails Ranch, the circus’s winter quarters in Florida.
This history of Tarzan Zerbini Circus and its shoddy roadside zoo is written in blood, and elephants have maimed several workers and visitors.
Circus “trainers” have spent decades beating elephants like Marie into submission, beginning when the animals are just babies. Unsurprisingly, she and others end up lashing out in frustration.
Okha
Age: ~54
Capture location: India
Current exhibitor: Brian Franzen
Recent Shrine circus appearances: 7+
The Franzen family has abused Okha over the past 50 years.
A whistleblower reported that Brian Franzen locked Okha in a truck for 20 to 21 hours every day while on tour. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has cited the seedy operation for not maintaining its trailers and for serious failures in providing animals with appropriate care.
We can’t help but wonder if Okha is imprisoned in a shoddy trailer right now.
Patty
Age: ~59
Capture location: Asia (country unknown)
Current exhibitor: Tarzan Zerbini Circus
Recent Shrine circus appearances: 2+
In her natural home or an accredited sanctuary, Patty would spend her days swimming, playing, and socializing.
Instead, Tarzan Zerbini Circus forces her to endure loneliness and misery, hauling her from state to state and forcing her to “perform.”
Tarzan Zerbini has a history of failing to provide elephants with adequate veterinary care or minimum space to move about.
Vickie
Age: ~63
Capture location: Asia (country unknown)
Current exhibitor: Carden Circus
Recent Shrine circus appearances: 2+
Vickie has been abused and exploited by Carden Circus for over 40 years. She has tested reactive for tuberculosis, a deadly disease that can be spread to humans.
Vickie’s currently confined at Wilstem Wildlife Park, a seedy roadside zoo in Indiana, where she’s forced into stressful encounters with the public.
Zola
Age: ~61
Capture location: Asia (country unknown)
Current exhibitor: Carson & Barnes Circus
Recent Shrine circus appearances: 2+
Carson & Barnes has abused Zola for nearly three decades. She has supposedly been “retired” but appears to have been taken to Shrine circus shows recently. Her exploiters describe her as “extroverted” in an attempt to justify using her in encounters with the public, but they couldn’t care less that she would be able to enjoy an appropriate and rich social life if she had remained in her natural home or if she were released to a true sanctuary.
Take Action
Elephants and other animals are forced to “perform” in Shrine circus shows across the U.S. under threat of violence—but you can help them.
Never attend circuses or any other attractions that use animals. And let Shriners International know what you think about the abuse of animals for its chapters’ circuses:
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