Owner of elephants that got stranded has faced scrutiny

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A circus that owns four elephants that were briefly stranded this week along an Oklahoma roadway also had a pachyderm escape its enclosure and roam free through a Wisconsin residential neighborhood last summer, federal records show.

A female Carson & Barnes Circus elephant named Kelly got loose in June at Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection report. The federal agency said in a document dated July 6 that the elephant could have been injured or hurt people.

The four elephants in Oklahoma were en route to Iowa on Wednesday when the floor began falling out of the trailer that was hauling them, leaving them stalled for about two hours awaiting another ride, according to the state Highway Patrol. The floor of the trailer was dragging on the road, sparking grass fires along the way.

Photos of the elephants moving from one trailer to another were shared widely on social media and prompted outcries from animal rights activists. The complaints come amid increased scrutiny of elephants in circuses and other public displays.

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