Texas GOP elephant lacked mandatory wild animal permit for Houston convention

When Texas GOP officials paraded Paige the elephant around their convention this month, they did so without the city permit required to bring wild animals into Houston, a safeguard intended to protect the public.

Public record requests submitted by The Dallas Morning News confirmed Trunks and Humps, the Montgomery County exhibitor cited repeatedly for federal animal welfare violations, failed to apply for a permit before bringing Paige to the June 12 convention.

The apparent code violation adds to cruelty concerns raised after Paige's appearance, which came as the finale to Gov. Greg Abbott's speech and went viral after the elephant urinated on the convention floor.

A video shows a handler poking Paige mid-stream with a bullhook – a sharp-tipped tool banned in dozens of U.S. jurisdictions as opposition has grown to using exotic animals like elephants in entertainment.

Trunks and Humps owner Bill Swain, Abbott's campaign and former GOP state Chairman Abraham George all declined to respond to questions about why the permit was not obtained. Houston officials did not answer whether the city intends to pursue penalties.

Houston requires traveling zoos and expositions to apply for a permit 20 days before bringing wild animals, including elephants, to the city, according to the code of ordinances. Failure to do so is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $500 to $2,000 under the code.

The permit process requires applicants to provide liability insurance; written consent from the owner of the property where the animal will be; and proof of how the animal will be prevented from escaping and hurting people.

By not obtaining a permit to walk the 8,600-pound Paige around hundreds of convention attendees, delegates and elected officials, organizers failed to meet a minimum safety expectation, according to exotic animal experts.

"What was the plan if that animal started to run amok?" said Kati Krouse, executive director of Huntsville-based Bears Etc., an exotic animal rescue. "They are living, thinking, breathing beings that are wild animals, that have instincts, and you don't know when the animal is going to decide it's done."

Krouse said she is unaware of any exemption that would have allowed a traveling exhibitor to bring an elephant to Houston without a permit.

After learning of the lack of a permit from The News, PETA Foundation Managing Director of Captive Wildlife Debbie Metzler said the welfare group is reporting the violation to Houston law enforcement "and demanding that the strictest action be taken."

Metzler said permits are essential so local authorities are aware when wild animals are brought to town and can have an opportunity "to stop a cruel and dangerous exhibition from setting up shop."

"It should be shut down, its license should be taken away and the animals it exploits should be moved to a reputable sanctuary," Metzler said of Trunks and Humps.

The Dallas Morning News submitted a public records request for all wild animal permit applications from any entity for the June 12 event and the city replied that no such records existed. The code allows licensed exhibitors to register in lieu of a permit, but no applicant did that either.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Jarrad Mears, director of the animal services department responsible for issuing wild animal permits, did not respond to calls, texts and emails asking whether the city intends to enforce its ordinance.

Carolyn Campbell, a spokesperson for Houston First, which manages the George R. Brown Convention Center, declined to answer whether the company knew organizers planned to bring a live elephant, the Republican Party's symbol, into the convention center.

Trunks and Humps is one of only a half a dozen traveling elephant exhibitors still operating in the United States, according to Humane World for Animals, as cruelty concerns and shifting public attitudes have pushed the industry into decline.

That count does not include hundreds of other elephants displayed in accredited zoos and roadside attractions.

Welfare group Animal Defenders International in 2004 identified Swain's son as the man on video pulling an elephant to the ground with a bullhook and kicking her in the face – and beating other elephants with a golf club and electric prod.

The business takes its three elephants, all captured in Africa in the 1980s, and two camels to Renaissance fairs and events throughout the U.S., according to its website.

Federal regulators have cited Swain's business over the decades for violating the Animal Welfare Act, including as recently as December when a woman at a church nativity event was knocked unconscious by a kick to the head from a camel.

It was cited in 2001 and 2010 for leaving elephants chained and unattended at Renaissance festivals. In 1998, a federal investigator questioned whether extensive cracks on Paige's front toes were from poor nutrition, records show.

Twelve states and 200 jurisdictions have banned or restricted the use of wild animals in circuses and traveling shows. In 2016, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the country's largest big top show, ended its use of elephants amid undercover cruelty investigations.

Elephants form lifelong family bonds, have complex communication systems and instincts to walk miles per day, leading to great suffering in captivity, advocates say.

Jan Creamer, president of Animal Defenders International, or ADI, that has documented abuses in circuses worldwide, said elephants are extremely powerful and potentially dangerous, especially when put in stressful and noisy environments like a convention hall.

She said a $500 to $2,000 fine for a misdemeanor permit offense, if enforced, is little deterrent for businesses profiting by "commercially exploiting animals."

"Over 50 countries have banned the scenes that were witnessed at the Texas Republican Party Convention," Creamer said. "It is shocking that Texas is so out of step with most modern democracies on this issue."

ADI's investigation into Trunks and Humps also documented its elephants spending extended periods in transport between performances and much of their time chained by their legs – confinement that may be more distressing than the physical abuse, she said.

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