An elephant died and four more are being treated for injuries after a circus truck accident on a major Spanish highway that provoked an outcry among animal rights defenders.
In this Monday, April 2, 2018 photo, an elephant is lifted up by a crane after a circus truck carrying elephants turned over a long a major motorway in the South Eastern region of Albacete, Spain. Authorities in southern Spain say an elephant has died and four others are recovering from injuries after a circus truck tipped over on a major highway, provoking an outcry among animal rights defenders. (El Digital de Albacete/María Guerrero via AP)
The truck overturned on Monday on the highway linking Albacete with Murcia, in the south of the country, after overtaking another long vehicle, said Albacete's Civil Guard spokesman Jose Amado.
He said the initial investigation has found that the movement of the five female elephants inside the truck could have destabilized it when the driver maneuvered to switch lanes.
The driver wasn't injured, the spokesman said, but one of the elephants died on the spot.
In this Monday, April 2, 2018 photo, an elephant stands injured in a ditch after a circus truck carrying elephants turned over a long a major motorway in the South Eastern region of Albacete, Spain. Authorities in southern Spain say an elephant has died and four others are recovering from injuries after a circus truck tipped over on a major highway, provoking an outcry among animal rights defenders. (El Digital de Albacete/María Guerrero via AP)
The four surviving elephants are being treated by veterinarians in a public facility before being moved to a clinic in coming days, Amado said. Three of them have minor cuts and one has more serious injuries to her legs.
"With five unpredictable animals, each one of them weighing three to four tons, accidents can happen no matter how much care has been taken," he said.
Photos and videos shared by local police and authorities showed the elephants standing on the road and being lifted onto trucks by huge industrial cranes.
A section of the highway near Pozo Canada, south of Albacete, remained closed for nearly three hours until the carcass of the dead elephant was also removed, local authorities said.
In this Monday, April 2, 2018 photo, an elephant is lifted up by a crane after a circus truck carrying elephants turned over a long a major motorway in the South Eastern region of Albacete, Spain. Authorities in southern Spain say an elephant has died and four others are recovering from injuries after a circus truck tipped over on a major highway, provoking an outcry among animal rights defenders. (El Digital de Albacete/María Guerrero via AP)
Animal rights groups said the accident is the latest example of how the nature of the circus business is a danger to the physical and behavioral needs of wild animals.
"These incredible animals are being carted around the country, confined and forced to perform," said Animal Defenders International President Jan Creamer in an emailed statement, adding that animals are often "confined in small spaces, deprived of physical and social needs, spending excessive amounts of time shut in transporters."
In this Monday, April 2, 2018 photo, a man checks on an elephant after a circus truck carrying elephants turned over a long a major motorway in the South Eastern region of Albacete, Spain. Authorities in southern Spain say an elephant has died and four others are recovering from injuries after a circus truck tipped over on a major highway, provoking an outcry among animal rights defenders. (El Digital de Albacete/María Guerrero via AP)
The Association of United Circuses said the overturned truck had been cleared by authorities for the transportation of animals and the journey had been approved by veterinarians.
"Animal rights activists have turned this accident into a scandal," said the association's spokesman, Ignacio Pedrera. "They have used it to make politics and attack this industry when road accidents, whether involving animals or not, happen all the time."
Pedrera said 13 out of the 22 active circuses touring Spain use animals in performances. The industry employs more than 2,500 families, he added.
The sound of a vehicle backfiring spooked a circus elephant while she was getting a pre-show bath in Butte, Montana, leading the pachyderm to break through a fence and take a brief walk, stopping noontime traffic on the city's busiest street before being loaded back into a trailer.
Viola, an Asian elephant with the Jordan World Circus, still participated in two performances Tuesday after her time on the lam in the southwestern Montana city of about 35,000 people that in the late 1800s was the world's largest copper-producing area.
Viola was getting a bath behind the Butte Civic Center just after noon on Tuesday when she was startled, Civic Center manager Bill Melvin said.
She went through a “kind of rickety” fence and went onto Harrison Avenue, a four-lane street, stopping traffic and causing folks to pull out their cellphones to take photos and video.
Olivia LaBeau, 21, was driving home from a coffee run when the elephant strolled in front of oncoming traffic. One car began backing up, and LeBeau stopped her car as the elephant casually made her way to the other side of the road.
“I kind of had to do a double take,” she said. “I thought I was seeing things.”
She took a video of the elephant.
“I had to pull out my phone because I think if I told someone they wouldn’t have believed me,” she said. “It’s a very absurd thing to see in Montana.”
Viola walked about half a block in the road before turning into the parking lot of a convenience store and casino, Melvin said.
Town Pump surveillance cameras caught images from several angles of the elephant walking down the street in front of the building and plodding through the parking lot with a trainer beside her. She then moved to a residential lawn where she started eating some grass.
People with the circus drove a trailer over with another elephant inside, Melvin said. They “put the ramp down and she walked right back in and that was it.”
“The other elephant was very happy to see her,” Melvin said.
About 10 minutes passed from when she was startled to when she was back in the trailer, he said.
“She come back and she performed last night and everything was good,” Melvin said. “I mean the show went on, as they say.”
At least two animal rights groups — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Compassion Works International — criticized the incident, saying it endangered the elephant and the public and could have been avoided if circuses didn't force animals to perform.
Viola and the Jordan World Circus have performances on Wednesday in the state capital Helena.
Dupuy reported from New York City; AP reporter Sarah Brumfield contributed from Silver Spring, Maryland.
This story has been corrected to show that the elephant performed on Tuesday, not Monday.
This image provided by Matayah Utrayle-Shaylene Smith shows an escaped elephant crossing the road in Butte, Mont., on Tuesday, April 17, 2024. The sound of a vehicle backfiring spooked a circus elephant while she was getting a pre-show bath leading the pachyderm to break through a fence and take a brief walk, stopping noontime traffic on the city's busiest street before before being loaded back into a trailer. (Matayah Utrayle-Shaylene Smith via AP)
This image provided by Matayah Utrayle-Shaylene Smith shows an escaped elephant crossing the road in Butte, Mont., on Tuesday, April 17, 2024. The sound of a vehicle backfiring spooked a circus elephant while she was getting a pre-show bath leading the pachyderm to break through a fence and take a brief walk, stopping noontime traffic on the city's busiest street before before being loaded back into a trailer. (Matayah Utrayle-Shaylene Smith via AP)
This image provided by Olivia LaBeau shows an escaped elephant crossing the road in Butte, Mont., on Tuesday, April 17, 2024. The sound of a vehicle backfiring spooked a circus elephant while she was getting a pre-show bath leading the pachyderm to break through a fence and take a brief walk, stopping noontime traffic on the city's busiest street before before being loaded back into a trailer. (Olivia LaBeau via AP)
This image provided by Olivia LaBeau shows an escaped elephant crossing the road in Butte, Mont., on Tuesday, April 17, 2024. The sound of a vehicle backfiring spooked a circus elephant while she was getting a pre-show bath leading the pachyderm to break through a fence and take a brief walk, stopping noontime traffic on the city's busiest street before before being loaded back into a trailer.(Olivia LaBeau via AP)
This image provided by Matayah Utrayle-Shaylene Smith shows an escaped elephant crossing the road in Butte, Mont., on Tuesday, April 17, 2024. The sound of a vehicle backfiring spooked a circus elephant while she was getting a pre-show bath leading the pachyderm to break through a fence and take a brief walk, stopping noontime traffic on the city's busiest street before before being loaded back into a trailer. (Matayah Utrayle-Shaylene Smith via AP)
