14 DAY TRIAL // Brian Boswell's Circus is now being accused of abusing the animals under its care. Furthermore, it appears that animal cruelty charges have been filed against it by the SPCA.
The conundrum began this past Sunday night, when the online community was introduced to one video showing how an elephant was abused by one of the circus' employees during a training session.
It is believed that the footage was shot by one circus goer, who used his cellphone to make sure that the elephant's being abused in this manner would not go unnoticed.
Although the video was filmed back in December 2012, it was its being aired on Carte Blanche on Sunday night that caused all this online commotion.
Sources say that the elephant featured in this video is named Wankie, and that the footage shows the animal being hit in the face by a circus employee with either a stick or a piece of steel.
Apparently, the elephant's only mistake was trying to pick up a hose and drink some water.
After this elephant abuse video was posted on the Boycott Brian Boswell Animal Circus Facebook page, several thousand saw fit to express their outrage concerning the circus' animal training practices.
The footage allegedly allowed the SPCA to build a case and file animal cruelty charges against said circus. Brian Boswell's Circus now risks both being made to pay a considerable fine, and losing its animals.
Despite the fact that SPCA members were rather taken aback by the sight of Wankie's being beaten by its trainer, the organization admitted that it was no strangers to the fact that this circus more often than not failed to treat its animals in a humane manner.
“We've always suspected this is the case, but this is finally documented proof,” SPCA member Ainsley Hay reportedly told members of the press.
For the time being, the circus' management team maintains that the elephant handler who abused Wankie has been fired, and that the elephant's being beaten was no more and no less than a one-time incident.
“It's not in our interest to be cruel or horrible to [the elephants]. Why would you do that? They are expensive,” Brian Boswell allegedly argued.
Hopefully, more news on this topic will soon be shared with the public.