Animal welfare advocates initiated a public campaign demanding the release of Joyce, an African elephant held at Six Flags Great Adventure and Wild Safari in Jackson Township, New Jersey, Parade reports.
World Animal Protection is urging the amusement park to relocate Joyce and four other elephants to a wildlife sanctuary and permanently close its elephant exhibit, according to a press release from the organization.
Joyce’s story began in Zimbabwe in the 1980s when she was brought to the United States after a government elephant culling operation killed most of her herd, the release said. She arrived with 62 other orphaned elephants and has since endured what the Elephant Database describes as “a traumatic history of performances, isolation, and stress,” being “regularly sold and t