If you type in RW Commerford & Sons in Google Maps, it will take you to a small zoo in Connecticut. The park has a horrific rating of 1.5 stars and once you do a little digging it isn't hard to see why. The zoo has been cited by the USDA for several animal welfare violations over the years and has earned the ire of animal rights advocates for its treatment of three elephants in their custody - Karen, Beulah, and Minnie.
At least they did have three elephants. Several outlets reported that two of their three pachyderms have died in less than a year. Now the infamous traveling circus just has one. Karen, died earlier this year and Beulah, the famous 54-year-old female which had been held captive by the Commerford family for more than 40 years passed away in September.
Beulah, without even knowing it, had been at the forefront of the fight for rights for elephants in the state of Connecticut where lawyers were working to earn her and other elephants' legal personhood.
The elderly elephant died as she lived, a prisoner and a tool for the Commerford Zoo to line their pockets of money made by making her suffer. She collapsed at the Big E Fair in neighboring Massachusetts. Now Minnie is the last elephant at the Commerford Zoo and it is only a matter of time until she too passes away without ever knowing freedom.
The owners of the Commerford Zoo should be ashamed of themselves. Elephants are intelligent, sentient beings that have no business in zoos. Nor do other animals for that matter because captivity is cruel.
It's time to stand up and say enough is enough. Sign the petition and demand that R.W. Commerford & Sons give Minnie a fighting chance at a happy life. Tell them to give her to a reputable animal sanctuary where she can be free.
