Take Action for Minnie!

Action Alert

TAKE ACTION FOR MINNIE

For over forty years, the Commerford Zoo has exploited Minnie and forced her to perform for their financial gain. Over the past two years, both of Minnie's elephant companions died. She is now held alone, without the psychologically necessary companionship of other elephants, at the Commerford Zoo's small farm in Goshen, CT.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Please complete this action alert asking the US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to order that the USDA conduct an emergency inspection of the Commerford Zoo to ensure that Minnie is safe and properly cared for.

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Urgent concerns about an elephant at a Connecticut roadside zoo

Dear Secretary Vilsack,

I am writing to express serious concerns about the welfare of Minnie, an Asian elephant owned by the Commerford Zoo in Goshen, CT, who has not been seen in public for over two years.

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For over three decades, the Commerford Zoo has forced Minnie, along with two other wild-born elephants, Beulah and Karen, to labor at circuses and fairs under threat of a bullhook, including performing tricks and giving rides to groups of children and adults. Claiming the elephants are “family,” the Commerford Zoo has continued to exploit them despite the physical and emotional harms this exploitation is known to cause.

On September 15, 2019, Beulah collapsed and died at a fair after the Commerford Zoo exploited her for profit one final time. On September 20, 2019, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed Karen died in March 2019. Both elephants suffered for decades as a result of their forced labor and regular transport to events across the Northeast, but their lives were no less terrible while imprisoned on the Commerford Zoo property in Goshen, CT. Since Beulah's death, Minnie has been living alone without the necessary companionship of other elephants.

On June 23, 2020, a GoFundMe fundraiser (https://www.gofundme.com/f/20zls6ompc) expressly endorsed by the Commerford Zoo was created, stating that the Commerford Zoo needs immediate financial assistance to provide Minnie with food, maintenance of her housing, and continued veterinary care, among urgent needs. It is seeking to raise $2.4 million to cover all costs associated with the care of Minnie. The fundraiser explains that, due to Covid-19, the Commerford Zoo has become “impoverished” and is in “desperate need of support” to maintain basic care for Minnie.

The fundraiser was created almost one year ago and has raised less than $2,500. Accordingly, I am greatly concerned that Minnie’s most basic needs are no longer being met.

I respectfully request that the USDA use its authority to conduct an emergency inspection of the Commerford Zoo to ensure that Minnie is being properly cared for in accordance with federal laws and regulations.

Should Minnie be in immediate danger or need to be removed from the Commerford Zoo’s custody, two U.S. elephant sanctuaries, The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee and the Performing Animal Welfare Society, have standing offers to provide Minnie with lifelong care and refuge at no cost to the Commerford Zoo. The Commerford Zoo is aware that there is a place waiting for Minnie at both sanctuaries, and it would cost them nothing to release her, which would alleviate the enormous financial strain they claim to be under.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely, [Your information here]