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 December 20, 2001 |
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Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus animal trainer Mark Oliver Gebel began a trial Monday in San Jose, CA on the charge of misdemeanor elephant abuse. The charges were brought when an investigator from the Humane Society of Santa Clara Valley, Christine Franco, claimed Gebel drew blood while striking the elephant, named Asia during a performance in August. The investigator wrote a misdemeanor citation for Gebel, son of notorious circus trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams. If convicted, the trainer faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. "This is going to be a very interesting trial, mainly because it is Ringling, which bills itself as the top-of-the-line circus, with the best record, best resources, best treatment of animals," said Richard Farinato of the Humane Society of the United States. According to Gebel's attorney James McManis, the case is nothing more than the result of intense political pressure that was put on the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office by animal advocates from across the county. "I think these animal rights people are making a big mistake if this is where they're going to make their stand on animals in the circus, because nothing happened here," Mr. McManis said. "This is going to be a big embarrassment." In the circus program, Gebel says his bond with elephants "is as powerful as between any friends." McManis said a stain near Asia's left shoulder washed away that afternoon during a bath, and a subsequent exam by a circus veterinarian showed no signs of an injury, but the Humane Society and the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office have pressed ahead with the case. Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Powell acknowledged that her office has received hundreds of letters and e-mails in support of the decision to prosecute Gebel, but said Friday: "We're proceeding with this case because we believe there is evidence'' that Gebel violated the law. McManis counters that photographs taken by a Humane Society investigator show no puncture wounds and that the district attorney's office is misusing the law at the urging of animal-rights activists. "What's disgraceful about this is that they've taken a very good statute and twisted it around to go after a fine young man who has no record whatsoever,'' McManis said. "I'm very disappointed that the district attorney wasn't able to tell these people, 'I'm not going to be part of your campaign.' '' Investigators say trainer drew blood The charge stems from an incident on Aug. 25, when several activists, a San Jose Police sergeant, and two Humane Society investigators, who went to the circus to look for signs of abuse, claim they saw Gebel lunge at Asia with his training tool outside the arena and later noticed a red spot on the 33-year-old female elephant. Christine Franco, the Humane Society investigator who wrote the citation, said the spot was blood drawn when Gebel prodded the animal with an ankus, a hook-like device used for training. In a Humane Society incident report, Franco wrote that she later examined the animal and found a "puncture type wound in one of the cracks of her skin.'' McManis said he was called to the scene and asked a circus veterinarian to examine Asia. McManis said the doctor found no evidence of a wound, so the lawyer asked Franco if she would call an independent veterinarian to examine the elephant before she wrote out the citation. In her report, Franco wrote: "He further asked if the veterinarian did not identify an injury, would I not issue the citation. I told McManis that I would issue the citation at that moment and if the veterinarian could not find an injury it would be up to the District Attorney's office to decide.'' In a postcard sent to scores of Santa Clara County residents, the Humane Society of the United States -- which has no power over the local Humane Society -- urged residents to send a letter to District Attorney George Kennedy, "thanking him for ensuring that this important case goes to trial.'' The mailer says that according to the Humane Society of Santa Clara Valley, "Mark Gebel struck the elephant so severely that he left an open wound on her left shoulder.'' In the e-mail campaign, a sample form letter says Gebel "cruelly ripped the elephant's shoulder with an ankus.'' Landmark case for circus critics But a prominent California animal-rights activist familiar with the case said the physical evidence -- the photographs taken by Franco -- do not support the claim that the animal's shoulder was gouged. "I don't think it serves the cause well at all to get behind cases that are not winnable because it's horribly detrimental if it backfires,'' said the activist, who asked not to be named for fear of being ostracized by other activists. "Unfortunately, we all work in a big group and we all cooperate and we all want the same thing. But I think we can make a better case than this one.'' The case against Gebel is the farthest animal-rights activists in the Bay Area who oppose the circus have gotten in the legal system. Last year, witnesses said they found cuts and puncture wounds on seven Ringling elephants performing in San Jose, but prosecutors determined there was not enough evidence to bring charges. Richard Farinato, director of captive wildlife protection for the Humane Society of the United States, said this is the first time he's aware of that a violation of the elephant-abuse law has gone to trial. "For those of us who wish to see a change in the way circuses treat animals, it's an interesting case for a lot of reasons,'' Farinato said. "If in fact he's not guilty, the battle will go on. This is an ongoing problem.'' The decade-old state law is the result of legislation crafted after an elephant at the San Diego Zoo was brutally beaten by five trainers in 1989. Pat Derby, director of the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) -- which has a 30-acre wild-animal sanctuary south of Sacramento -- testified before the California Legislature in 1990, when the law was passed. It states that it is a misdemeanor to engage in abusive behavior toward an elephant. "The statute was written to get a law on the books about blatant cruelty,'' Derby said. "It's wonderful because of its stance against electricity. Cattle prods were used a lot and openly to train elephants until this statute.'' |
Elephant Abuse Trial Begins in San Jose