“A transport-related accident may have caused the death of Hungarian circus elephants,” was a recent statement published by the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture. Their owner did not report the deaths of the animals for nearly two months. No autopsy was performed due to “mercy reasons.”

The Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture issued an announcement about the two dead elephants of the Szada Safari Park belonging to the Hungarian National Circus. The report stated, “Immediately after the case came to light, the competent Hungarian authorities began to investigate the matter. Two of the five African elephants of a guest artist died in mid-August. According to the information currently available, the two animals died after a domestic transport and their third companion was rescued by rapid and professional veterinary intervention.” It was also added that the veterinarian did not find any signs of an infectious disease in the animals, so their death was probably caused by an accident related to the transport, but the investigation is still ongoing. Animal rights activists had long suspected that Mambo, 37, and Betty, 35, were no longer alive, but this was only officially confirmed on October 21 by René Casselly, the owner and trainer of the animals. He...