Pacyderm stunt blasted as cruelty
SANTA
ANA (AP) – A planned stunt to surround an elephant with a soap bubble has drawn
complaints that it constitutes animal cruelty.
Artist
Fan Yang plans to set a world record on Tuesday by creating a bubble large
enough to enclose a 7-foot-6 Asian elephant named Tai at the Discovery Science
Center in Santa Ana.
The
stunt is part of the museum’s “Bubblefest” exhibit.
Yang
has done the same thing with humans. But some activists and animal services
officials say putting Tai in a bubble — even for an estimated 5 seconds to 10
seconds — would be demeaning and would provide the wrong message.
“It’s
cruelty in the worst possible form in that it says it’s not only acceptable,
it’s an art form,” said Ed Bok, general manager of Los Angeles Animal Services.