Beulah, a 46-year-old, six-ton Asian elephant, was feeding from a bucket of hay, bread and fruit as rain soaked The Big E fairground Wednesday morning. A part of the R.W. Commerford & Sons Traveling Petting Zoo, Buelah gives rides to fairgoers and is, in every sense, the zoo's biggest attraction.
She is also a magnet for controversy, with animal rights activists protesting the zoo's use of the animal as mistreatment. Tim Commerford, one of the zoo's owners, said in an interview that the criticism is off base, describing Beulah - one of three elephants owned by the Commerfords - as part of the family.
"She's been in my family 43 years," Commerford said. "My dad purchased this elephant one month after I was born."
Care for an elephant is a constant job, he said. They feed her about 200 pounds of hay each day, along with fruit, bread, and occasional treats like marshmallows or whole watermelons that she cracks open with her feet and shovels into her mouth. Providing hay for a grown elephant can cost around $30,000 per year, Commerford said.
Beulah spends up to 70 days at fairs, giving rides and traveling, and the rest of the year at the family's 50 acre farm. The travel and activity keeps her stimulated and zoo workers spend time with her outside of showtimes, Commerford said.
"We'll sit out here with her and drink our coffee," he said. "She just likes being part of the family."
Animal rights groups do not see it that way. A Change.org petition asking The Big E to stop inviting the Commerford's zoo back to the fair, which has attracted over 5,000 supporters, describes their treatment of animals as exploitation.
"The elephants, camels and ponies are harnessed, loaded with spectators and then led around in circles for hours," the petition said. "It is time to stop treating animals as side shows and the best way to prevent this treatment is by eliminating R. W. COMMERFORD & SONS' platform to do so."
The petition's organizer posted on Tuesday that she had met with a Commerford & Son representative, and while still skeptical of the use of exotic animals at fairs now believes that the Commerford animals are well cared for.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has also compiled a list of violations cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including problems with animal living situations, animal handling and scattered reports of injuries.
Commerford acknowledged that the zoo had been cited for violations by the USDA, but said many of the violations were for petty irregularities in feeding practices or enclosure maintenance. The farm is regulated by the USDA and regulated by state agencies like the Massachusetts Division of Wildlife and Fisheries, he said.
"As far as the violations, they're no different that if the health department was going to [a] restaurant," he said. "If we did anything wrong or had an extreme amount of violations or something, then they would take the elephant from us."
Animal rights activists regularly protest outside the petting zoo on weekend afternoons, Commerford said. Critics of keeping elephants in zoos argue that limited space, isolation and negative-reinforcement training are common in zoos and harmful to the animals. In an opinion piece for National Geographic, the president of the Performing Animal Welfare Society, which operates wildlife sanctuaries in California, took issue with the use of bullhooks to control elephants' behavior.
Commerford prefers the term "elephant hook," or "guidestick," and said that taps and prods with the spiked canes are approved by the USDA and necessary to control elephants during rides. In demonstrating the use of the hook for a reporter, Commerford was gentle; more violent use of the tools has been captured on video by activist groups in other parts of the country, however.
"Animal activists and extremists will go out front here at The Big E, they'll go out there with there signs," Commerford said. "I think it's kind of silly, and I'll tell you why: because they don't know who we are, they don't know any of the other animal people around here. They don't know where we come from."
His family's elephants are well cared for, Commerford said. He described protestors as misinformed about Buehla's living conditions, and said that the family is both emotionally and financially invested in her well-being.
"We've had her 43 years. I think we did a dang good job," he said.
Keep up with all of MassLive's coverage of New England's Great State fair at masslive.com/the-big-e.