After 14 years of PETA’s campaign for Nosey (the exploited elephant whose owner used bull hooks to force her to perform) she is now happily being cared for at The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee. The Lawrence County District Court Judge Terry declared that Nosey won’t be returned to the people who left her chained and swaying back and forth in her urinary waste with urinary tract, skin, and roundworm infections as well as painful osteoarthritis and signs of dehydration and malnutrition. Nosey now finally has a fairytale ending. An article below, written and published by The Elephant Sanctuary, reveals the details of Nosey's life and rescue.
November 10, 2017, Hohenwald, Tenn. — African elephant Nosey arrived safely at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee late Thursday night after she was confiscated in Alabama by Lawrence County animal control officers on Wednesday, November 8. The Sanctuary will be a temporary refuge for Nosey until the court makes a final ruling.
The Sanctuary’s Veterinary and Husbandry teams greeted Nosey upon her arrival with fresh-cut produce, bamboo, and banana leaves. Staff monitored her throughout the night and reported that Nosey showed calm interest in her new surroundings.
Over the next weeks, Nosey will be kept separate from the other elephants as her health and individual needs are evaluated.
We applaud all those who have worked so tirelessly on Nosey’s behalf. The Sanctuary Staff is committed to providing the highest standard of care for Nosey during her time at The Elephant Sanctuary.
Nosey was born in Zimbabwe in 1982. She was captured from the wild in 1984 and sent to Ocala, Florida and then in 1986 was transferred to David Meeks of the Meeks Company in South Carolina. She was purchased by Hugo Liebel in 1988 and has been traveling with the Liebel Family Circus ever since.
The Elephant Sanctuary is the nation’s largest natural-habitat refuge developed specifically for endangered elephants. Located on 2,700 acres in Hohenwald, TN, 85 miles southwest of Nashville, it exists to provide captive elephants with individualized care, the companionship of a herd and the opportunity to live out their lives in a safe haven dedicated to their well-being and to raise public awareness of the complex need of elephants in captivity and the crisis elephants face in the wild.
If you would like to support The Sanctuary as we meet the needs of the elephants in our care, please visit www.shop.elephants.com.
UPDATE: The District Court of Lawrence County, Alabama has issued an order in response to Nosey’s custody proceedings on December 15, 2017. Custody of Nosey remains in place (at The Sanctuary). We are delighted by this progress toward The Sanctuary becoming Nosey’s lifetime home. A full statement will be released after The Sanctuary’s legal team has finished reviewing the judge’s order. There will be a hearing on June 7, 2018 to determine the legal status of Nosey's custody.