Thank You For Being [The Elephants'] Friend

By Sam Bakken in Miscellaneous on Jun 16, 2005 7:29PM

We didn't know everyone's favorite southern belle considered herself an activist. But Honorary PETA (shouldn't it be "PeTA"?) Director Rue McClanahan, who played "Blanche Devereaux" on The Golden Girls, is trying to prevent The Hawthorn Corp. from transferring four elephants from their Illinois facility to Carson & Barnes Circus’ Endangered Ark Foundation in Hugo, Okla. (the USDA has approved the transfer). The four elephants were exposed to tuberculosis but did not test positive for the illness. PETA worries they could carry latent tuberculosis for which they claim there is no accurate test.

Rue wrote a letter to Oklahoma State Rep. Ray McCarter asking him to pass emergency legislation that would stop the transfer. She'd rather see the elephants transferred to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. And not only because of the tuberculosis. She worries that Carson & Barnes won't treat the elephants nice. According to PETA the company regularly violates the Animal Welfare Act (The Hawthorne Corporation too).

Fine. Rue can do what she do, but you know how we feel. We think we need to make sure humans are treated humanely before we worry about our animal friends. We'd like to hear Rue's thoughts on Guantanamo Bay. Or what she thinks about the poor and hungry PEOPLE in the U.S.