Credit: Inside the MagicA new short documentary film narrated by a Harry Potter star has been released to expose the terrible conditions that elephants are exposed to at Six Flags Great Adventure, and theme park fans and animal activists are demanding the theme park take action.
World Animal Protection US has released Trapped at Six Flags, a nine-minute documentary about Joyce, an African elephant currently held at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. The film was written, produced, and directed by World Animal Protection Programs Manager Miguel Endara and narrated by Irish actress and World Animal Protection Global Ambassador Evanna Lynch, best known for her role as Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter film franchise.
Related: Six Flags Employees Shoving Match Ends up Taking Out Guest
The film focuses on Joyce, an elephant who was captured in Zimbabwe after her herd was killed by a sanctioned government slaughter. Since the 1980s, she has been in the United States (per World Animal Protection), “alongside 62 other orphaned elephants, including Mundi, Joyce has suffered a traumatic history of performances, isolation, and stress, regularly passed around between zoos, circuses, and other captive attractions around the US.”
Trapped at Six Flags follows World Animal Protection Head of Animal Welfare & Research Dr. Jan Schmidt-Burbach as he visited Six Flags Wild Safari Adventure, the 510-acre animal theme park outside of Great Adventure. According to Dr. Schmidt-Burbach:
“Six Flags allots a small, barren area for the elephants it holds in captivity, a space Joyce is not even able to access. Instead, she is held isolated in an even smaller paddock. The total area provided for the captive elephants by Six Flags is appallingly 700,000 times smaller than what they would enjoy in their natural environment. Additionally, Dr. Schmidt-Burbach raises concerns about how the elephants are likely further harmed by their proximity to the park’s massive rollercoasters. In the cold New Jersey winter months, all of the elephants are confined to a nearby barn.”
The Trapped at Six Flags film is designed to highlight the conditions in which Joyce and the other elephants at Wild Safari Adventure are being confined. Experts describe these conditions as incapable of “meeting the complex physical, social, and spatial needs of elephants” and as causing “shorter lifespans, behavioral problems, and chronic diseases” in the animals.
Evanna Lynch says via statement:
“When World Animal Protection US first reached out to me about Joyce, my heart broke for her. Joyce’s tragic story captures the plight of so many elephants who are taken from the wild and forced to endure lives of exploitation and misery for human entertainment. Thankfully, the ending of Joyce’s story has not yet been written. It is my hope that through this remarkable and moving documentary, more people will learn about Joyce and come to her rescue while there’s still time. It is a privilege to be a part of this important project.”
Six Flags Great Adventure is the second-largest theme park in the world, after Disney’s Animal Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Due to a 2012 merger with Wild Safari, it covers hundreds of acres of Jackson Township, which makes it all the more shocking that so little space is allocated for Joyce and the other elephants held there.
The accusations of insufficient care and space for Joyce and the elephants are also disturbing in that the Six Flags company is the single largest and one of the most popular theme park chains in North America, due in part to its recent acquisition of Cedar Fair and its numerous amusement and water parks.
Now that Six Flags is more visible than ever, it seems strange that it would want to run afoul of the raging debate about the ethics of holding elephants captive for entertainment purposes.
Six Flags describes its controversial attraction as “Boasting 1,200 animals from six continents including elephants, rhinos, tigers, giraffes and lions, Safari Off Road Adventure takes explorers on an exhilarating, animal adventure. Skilled drivers transport guests off-road to get up close with exotic animals as they venture over rugged terrain in the Wild Safari.
Throughout the excursion, informative guides will entertain you and answer questions, providing a wildly interactive experience.” It also includes the “glamping experience” at Savannah Sunset Resort & Spa.
World Animal Protection is asking Six Flags:
- Immediately work with one of the three US-based sanctuaries that care for elephants to release Joyce to their care.
- Identify sanctuary placements for the remaining elephants at the Wild Safari and set timelines for their relocation.
- Close down the elephant enclosure and commit to not purchasing or breeding any new elephants for the Wild Safari.
Inside the Magic reached out to World Animal Protection for comment, but had not heard back by the time of publishing.
More information and a petition to free Joyce can be found here.