The Virginia State Police is assisting the Office of the Attorney General with conducting an investigative search warrant at the Natural Bridge Zoo in Rockbridge County. PETA has now responded, stating in a release that it,”thanks the Office of the Attorney General … and hopes this will bring much needed relief to the 40-year-old solitary elephant, Asha, and other long neglected animals held there,” adding that, “the roadside zoo has long been the subject of public concern and PETA complaints to local, state and federal agencies.
(PET release) Below, please find a statement from PETA’s Senior Vice President of Cruelty Investigations, Daphna Nachminovitch, in response to reports that the Virginia Office of the Attorney General is executing a search warrant at Natural Bridge Zoo.
“PETA thanks the Office of the Attorney General for executing an investigative search warrant at the Natural Bridge Zoo and hopes this will bring much needed relief to the 40-year-old solitary elephant, Asha, and other long neglected animals held there. The roadside zoo has long been the subject of public concern and PETA complaints to local, state and federal agencies. Though female elephants are highly social family animals who spend their entire lives together, Natural Bridge Zoo has kept Asha all alone—on a small patch of barren ground and chained at night in a barn—since 2005. She is the last solitary African elephant in North America exploited in such a facility for rides, during which her handler carries a heavy steel-tipped weapon resembling a fireplace poker, known as a bullhook, as a reminder of the pain he will inflict on her if she doesn’t obey his every command. For years, Asha has swayed and bobbed her head, recognized signs of loneliness, boredom, and stress. PETA looks forward to sharing additional information about Asha’s condition and how she has been kept pending the outcome of this search warrant.”
The Virginia State Police is assisting the Office of the Attorney General with conducting an investigative search warrant at the Natural Bridge Zoo in Rockbridge County. PETA has now responded, stating in a release that it,”thanks the Office of the Attorney General … and hopes this will bring much needed relief to the 40-year-old solitary elephant, Asha, and other long neglected animals held there,” adding that, “the roadside zoo has long been the subject of public concern and PETA complaints to local, state and federal agencies.
