Green Daily

This weekend the New York Times posted a sad, yet beautiful, photo essay of elephants on the streets of Bangkok. Even though some of the mahouts are kind to their elephants, too many are careless, cruel and outright abusive.

Things aren't always much better here in the States, where elephants are treated horribly in circuses and disreputable zoos. PETA (naturally) has a detailed micro-site dedicated to the evils of circuses, particularly the maltreatment of elephants.

While you may not appreciate PETA's heavy-handed manner, you do have to admit they get results. When Britney Spears used circus animals in the video for her "comeback" song, Circus, PETA's letter writers got all up in Britney's grill. It worked (who knew anyone on her team could read?) very well -- in addition to not having any animals on the tour with her, and she went a step further and sent out a press release about the "animal-free" stage design.

Ideally elephants would get to live free-of-humans, in their natural habitat. Conservation efforts notwithstanding, it's a bit late for that. The next best thing is a well-run, caring zoo that functions as a wildlife refuge, like the one at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, or the North Carolina Zoo, which has seven acres of habitat for their elephants roam through.

That's definitely better than living in chains on the streets of Bangkok or being poked with a hook at the circus!