CHICAGO, June 17 (UPI) -- An animal rights group has filed a lawsuit to stop the transfer of four elephants from Illinois to an Oklahoma group it says is affiliated with a circus.
The issue came up last month after the U.S. Agriculture Department, unable to reach an agreement on sending all 12 of Hawthorn Corp.'s remaining elephants kept on a farm near Chicago to a Tennessee sanctuary, approved the transfer of four of them to the Endangered Ark Foundation in Hugo, Okla., the Chicago Tribune reports.
But the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which filed the federal lawsuit in Washington, says the foundation is run by the same family that manages the Carson & Barnes Circus. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for Monday.
In April 2003 the USDA charged Hawthorn with failing to properly care for its elephants. In exchange for keeping his tigers, Hawthorn's owner agreed in March 2004 to give up the elephants, the Tribune said.
