Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

There is a circus currently being promoted in the Cape Cod area and I know some may think, what a fun outing. Before you go, please consider the following about elephants and any wild animal being used for entertainment.

People like to see elephants at a circus, movie, zoo or in an advertisement because of their magnificence and beauty. If you are seeing an elephant in any of these situations, please know that elephant has been and is being mistreated.

Baby elephants are removed from their mothers and families in order to break their spirits. Elephants are known for their strong family connections through life. They are routinely beaten, hit or painfully prodded to make them learn and do tricks that may look cute to us but are unnatural to the elephant. Their performance and their lives are based on a constant fear of being hurt.

These animals that are meant to be walking mile after mile in the wilderness are chained in place and left standing for up to 19 hours a day.

The payment of your entrance ticket supports the continued maltreatment of these amazing animals.

There is a wonderful film now being shown on HBO called An Apology to Elephants, and at peta.org, you can see a film of a baby elephant being trained. Both are disturbing if you like animals, but also informative.

Suzanna Nickerson, Edgartown