October 09, 2015
Margate City’s beloved historic landmark Lucy the Elephant is in need of major repairs, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has offered to help.
PETA says it will contribute toward the estimated $58,000 repair bill to help fix holes and crumbling wood on the beachside attraction.
However, the organization would like something in return.
PETA has requested that Lucy be decorated with a message that informs visitors of how her fellow elephants are treated in the circus. PETA says its has gathered video and photographic evidence showing that they’re kept in shackles and often struck with bullhooks.
"PETA’s offer is a win-win proposition: Not only would it help repair a unique piece of historical Americana, it’d also help call attention to the plight of elephants trapped in the circus," PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a press release.
"Life in the circus is no life at all for these sensitive, highly intelligent animals, who are separated from their families and kept in chains when they’re not being forced to perform under threat of punishment."
In a letter to Lucy the Elephant CEO and Executive Director Richard Helfant, Newkirk suggests that Lucy be "decorated like Ella, the famous and much-photographed elephant statue standing outside PETA’s Washington, D.C., office."
Lucy turned 134 years old on July 18.
