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Elephant rides at the Orange County Fair are now a thing of the past thanks to a vote by the fair's board this afternoon.
The board voted 7-1 to end its contract with the company with Have Trunk Will Travel, which offered elephant rides at the fair in Costa Mesa, according to City News Service. These rides have been offered at the fair for 25 years, but board member Nick Bernardino encouraged his fellow board members to rethink this year's contract because of liability concerns. New industry standards for elephant care providers say that they should not share the same unrestricted space as elephants.
Kari Johnson of the group Have Trunk Will Travel said she was disappointed, since the group had a good safety record. never had any incidents where fairgoers. She told CNS, "Of course we were disappointed, and I think a lot of people who go to the fair this year will be disappointed too."
Of course, the folks over at PETA were pretty happy with this decision. David Perle of PETA told CNS, "Elephants beaten in order to force them to perform are more prone to rampaging, so by canceling these cruel and dangerous elephant rides, the Orange County Fair Board is ensuring that no parents or children will be injured in such an incident at the fair."
