Activists Blast Mindy Meyer Over Elephant

Image by new york post
Animal rights activists blasted Mindy Meyer for bringing an elephant to a fundraising event for her Brooklyn state Senate campaign.
A spokesperson for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said Meyer, the 22-year-old Orthodox Jewish law student, should have considered the possibility that the pachyderm “suffered greatly” to make her gimmicky photo-op a success.
“It may not have been immediately obvious to Ms. Mindy Meyer, (but) the reality is that this elephant has likely suffered immensely in order for trainers to be able to control her the way that they do, whether for appearances at events, photo shoots, elephant rides, or movies,” said Nicole Dao of PETA.
Dao said trained elephants are often severely abused to keep them docile.
“Elephants used for entertainment live dismal lives in which they are dominated, confined, and violently trained,” Dao said. “Workers routinely beat them behind the scenes with a bullhook — a heavy rod with a sharp metal hook and a point on the end that resembles a fireplace poker — to get them to obey.”
Meyer’s campaign did not return calls for comment about the elephant.
The elephant was there to “represent the Republican Party,” Meyer told the New York Post. The GOP mascot was adorned with a pink ribbon, in an apparent attempt to fit in with Meyer’s image.
“I’m humbled by the overwhelming support for my campaign,’’ Meyer cooed.
Meyer, who’s gained popularity over her prevalent use of pink in her platform—she has been called the “Magenta Yenta” and “Palin in Pink”—trotted out an elephant adorned with a pink ribbon at the Inwood Country Club in Long Island on Monday night.
The Bravo network was on site to film the event for its show “Chef Roble & Co.’’ according to the Post.
During Meyer’s speech, she said she found inspiration from former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and Reese Witherspoon’s character from the film “Legally Blonde.”
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