Hugo, United States – An elderly elephant named Traci is shown struggling to stand and relieve herself before being repeatedly struck with a sharp, steel-tipped bullhook at a circus facility in Hugo, Oklahoma.

Video footage from PETA shows a trainer shouting “Traci, lie down!” while twisting and forcing the bullhook into sensitive areas of her body until she collapses onto the ground, covered in waste. A nearby child can be heard saying, “She doesn’t want to do it.”

The footage was recorded at the Carson & Barnes Circus’s Hugo-based Endangered Ark Foundation, where elderly elephants in their late 50s are reportedly forced into interactions with paying visitors. PETA is calling for criminal charges against those responsible.

The video also shows another elephant, Whimpy, being jabbed in the ear, causing visible pain. The technique is linked to trainer Tim Frisco, who appears in the footage and has previously been recorded instructing handlers to beat elephants with bullhooks to “make ‘em scream.”

Both Traci and Whimpy are seen swaying repeatedly, a behavior described as a sign of psychological distress. One observer notes they are “probably being mistreated.”

PETA Foundation Managing Director of Captive Wildlife Debbie Metzler said the elephants were taken from their families more than fifty years ago and continue to be used without rest. She urged people to avoid the facility and called for the elephants to be moved to an accredited sanctuary.

The statement adds that elephants in nature live in matriarchal herds, share caregiving roles, and make group decisions, while those at the facility have no autonomy over movement or basic needs.

Carson & Barnes Circus has been cited for nearly 150 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act and continues to lease elephants for traveling circuses and paid visitor encounters.

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