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In June 2026, CompassionWorks International went inside The Preserve in Texas to document what happens during its heavily marketed elephant “experience.”
What we witnessed was not sanctuary. Elephants were required to perform unnatural behaviors, submit to repeated handling by tourists, participate in staged activities, and respond to handlers controlling their movements with bullhooks.
Exploitation does not become ethical simply because it is marketed as an “experience.”
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What CWI Documented
In June 2026, CompassionWorks International visited The Preserve in Fredericksburg, Texas, to see its heavily marketed elephant “experience” firsthand.
During our visit, we documented elephants being repeatedly directed into unnatural positions and behaviors for visitors. Rosie was surrounded by dozens of people who were encouraged to “bathe” her before she was prompted to perform a headstand. Visitors were allowed to touch the bottoms of elephants’ feet. Rosie was made to paint. Another elephant performed with a hula hoop while holding a circus-style pose.
We also documented a handler using a bullhook to prompt an elephant to raise her trunk higher while the inside of her mouth was shown to visitors.
None of these activities are necessary for an elephant’s wellbeing. They exist because people have paid for access to elephants and expect an entertaining, hands-on experience.
An "Experience" Is Still Exploitation
The Preserve does not market itself as a circus. It promotes close contact with elephants as education, conservation, and connection.
But changing the language does not change what is being required of the elephants.
The Preserve sells an interactive elephant experience in which visitors are invited to touch elephants, help bathe them, pose for photographs, and observe staged behaviors. Elephants are presented as willing participants in an intimate encounter designed for paying guests.
Elephants do not exist for us to touch, bathe, pose with, or command into tricks.
The absence of a circus tent does not make compulsory performance ethical. Exploitation does not become conservation simply because it is packaged as an “experience.”
The Elephants at The Preserve
The Preserve houses four Asian elephants: Kitty, Becky, Rosie, and Sophie.
During CWI’s June 2026 visit, staff told visitors that Kitty is 59 years old, has been with the operation for 36 years, and is the oldest and largest elephant there. Becky is 39 and has been with them for 32 years. Rosie is 42 and has also been with them for 32 years.
Sophie, formerly known as Becky, was previously used by Carson & Barnes Circus and Endangered Ark Foundation before being relocated to The Preserve. She is approximately 57 years old. Sophie was not on public view during CWI’s investigation and does not appear in our footage; however, she has been confirmed to be on-site.
These elephants have already spent decades living according to human demands. They deserve lives defined by their own needs, not by the expectations of paying visitors.
CWI Has Been Fighting This Exploitation Since Our Beginning
CWI’s history with the people behind The Preserve goes back to our earliest days.
In 2013, before CompassionWorks International had formally launched to the public, our Circus Protest project was already campaigning against Have Trunk Will Travel. We created a dedicated website, Have Trunk Will Abuse, shared evidence of the company’s elephant training practices, and launched a petition that ultimately gathered roughly 10,000 signatures.
Over the years, CWI continued challenging Have Trunk Will Travel at public events, organizing protests, contacting government officials, and urging venues to stop using its elephants.
More than a decade later, the business has a new name and a different presentation.
The fundamental problem remains the same.
Elephants are still being controlled, made to perform, and used to create entertainment experiences for humans.
What We Are Asking The Preserve to Do
CWI is calling on The Preserve to end activities that require elephants to perform or submit to unnecessary public handling.
That means ending:
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hands-on bathing sessions with tourists;
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staged tricks and performance behaviors;
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elephant painting and other novelty activities;
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unnecessary touching and handling for entertainment or photo opportunities; and
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other commercial encounters that require elephants to participate for paying visitors.
These elephants have already spent decades being exploited for profit.
They deserve something different now.
Tell The Preserve to end its hands-on elephant experiences and stop using elephants for entertainment.
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