Durban - The two Brian Boswell’s Circus elephants whose abuse by their handlers ignited a public firestorm have been sent back to their base camp just outside Pietermaritzburg.
But this was because of the cold weather in Gauteng where the circus was touring – not public pressure – circus owner Brian Boswell said on Wednesday, contradicting claims by animal activists.
“We were planning to send them home anyway. This is what we usually do when we are travelling during the cold months,” he said.
Speaking to the media for the first time since the abuse of elephants Wankie and Thembi came to light, Boswell also hinted that he might reconsider using wild animals in circus acts if that’s what the general public wanted.
“We often conduct public surveys asking people what they want to see and thus far the majority, particularly the children, say they do want to see animals,” he told the Daily News. “The number of our patrons outweigh the handful of activists.”
Driving a Daily News team through the Lion Park, owned by his family and used as a base camp for the circus animals when they are not travelling, Boswell sought to downplay the abuse controversy.
He said their elephant training method was based on voice commands and rewards (fruit or verbal).
“The training is like a game. Sticks are used, but not to hit the animals,” he said.
However, in amateur video footage aired on Carte Blanche last month and reported extensively by the Daily News, Brian Boswell’s Circus elephants were seen being abused by their handlers in two separate incidents.
One shows a handler running towards and whipping an elephant that is trying to run away from him, and the other shows a handler hitting an elephant.
The footage was taken on a cellphone and a hidden camera in December and given to the National Council of the SPCA (NSPCA) in January.
The council subsequently laid five criminal charges against the circus.
The circus confirmed this week that it had fired one handler in December – he had been on probation – after receiving complaints from patrons, and suspended another after the Carte Blanche segment. The second handler, who grew up on the Boswells’ farm with the elephants, still faces a disciplinary hearing and had not been fired, as the Daily News was led to believe last month.
Boswell said he wanted to see the unedited footage before making a decision about the suspended handler.
“We don’t condone hitting the animals. But I do also know that only parts of the clips were played,” he said. “Elephants take a longer time to train than other animals. You have to earn their trust. They won’t do something they don’t like. We don’t use prodders.”
Since the programme aired last month, only one person had come to their camp site and asked to inspect the animals and their living conditions, Boswell said.
“There are people who believe animals should not be kept in captivity. People are entitled to believe what they want to but they shouldn’t impose their beliefs on others.”
He said the animals learnt commands from a young age and were constantly learning. Elephants’ life spans were similar to humans’ and Wankie and Thembi, he said, were in their thirties.
The news team met the two circus elephants, who were grazing in a herd that included four other elephants. Two handlers were with them. Boswell said this was to protect the elephants when the public drove through the park.
“Sometimes people get out of their cars and try to feed the elephants,” he said. “As you can see they (the handlers) have no sticks or weapons and just use voice commands. Look at their size in comparison to the elephants’. The elephants are so expensive (to buy), why would we hurt them?”
The Boswells have 30 African and Asian elephants in their park. All were bought when they were young and grew up on the farm, he said, adding that many had retired from circus life as they were too big to travel.
The elephants appeared to be healthy, calm and content and one approached the car and put his trunk through the window. Boswell said he was in search of fruit, their treat. The elephants also approached our photographer who was standing outside the car and one allowed him to pet its trunk.
However, NGO Public Watch believes the two circus elephants were sent back to the park because of public anger.
The organisation, which has highlighted circus elephant cruelty over the years, thanked its supporters in an e-mail last week, saying the public had “spoken out and demonstrated” as “more and more venues are turning the circus away...”
Ainsley Hay, acting manager of the NSPCA’s Wildlife Protection Unit, said Brian Boswell’s Circus was performing in Kempton Park with no elephants, “even though historically the elephants have travelled with the circus in April and May”.
Meanwhile, one of the handlers at the centre of the storm apologised to the country on Sunday’s episode of Carte Blanche and said he felt very guilty about what he had done.
But, said Hay: “It was interesting to note the apology was not to the abused elephants but to the public who were upset after viewing the footage.”
She said the police were finalising the docket containing the charges laid by the NSPCA and were expected to hand it to the National Prosecuting Authority this week for a decision.
“We are not withdrawing the charges,” she said. “We continue to urge South Africans to boycott all circuses that use wild animals and we reiterate that the cruelty they face in circus life is not limited to beating, their living conditions and life on the road are also cruel.”
The NSPCA and animal activists have obtained just over 6 800 electronic signatures for a petition to be sent to the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, calling for a ban on the use of wild animals as part of circus acts.
Daily News