Mar 12, 2008 9:21 am US/Pacific
Activists Upset Elephant Will Spend Time In Bubble
Activists Upset Over Discovery Science Center's Plan For 'Bubblefest'
SANTA ANA
Animal rights activists are upset about a plan to put an 8,800-pound elephant in a bubble for a few seconds at the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana next week.
Tai, 39, has appeared in TV commercials, 20 movies and made and appearances at corporate parties.
"She has such a reputation that people ask for her by name," Kari Johnson, a co-owner of Have Trunk Will Travel, told the Los Angeles Times. The company operates a ranch in Perris for nine endangered Asian elephants, which often work in show business.
Artist Fan Yang plans to briefly envelop the elephant in a giant soapy bubble at the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana on Tuesday as part of the center's annual Bubblefest, according to The Times.
The stunt is intended to set a world record for the largest living land mammal in a bubble.
"It's cruelty in the worst possible form in that it says it's not only acceptable, it's an art form," L.A. Animal Services General Manager Ed Boks told The Times. Though he has no say over the Santa Ana event, Boks said, "I think that's the wrong message to be sending."
The science center says the show is educational has been performed a number of times on humans, according to The Times.
"We don't think it's cruelty," Leslie Perovich, vice president of marketing for the center, told the newspapers. "It's a great opportunity to get people excited about bubbles and science."
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