9/9/26 - Kelly and Isla Are Still on the Fair Circuit!
9 hours ago
2 min read
Kelly and Isla, two elderly elephants, are being hauled from fair to fair across the Midwest. As one fair ends, another booking keeps the circuit going.
Clay County Fair in Spencer, Iowa, is the next scheduled Elephant Encounter stop, September 12–20. CWI is calling for its cancellation.
Kelly and Isla were publicly identified by name at Price County Fair in Wisconsin. Days later, CWI identified them again in current photos and video from Waupaca County Fair. They are now part of a disturbing 2026 fair circuit stretching across multiple states.
The Elephant Encounter appeared next at the South Dakota State Fair, September 2–7. Clay County Fair is next.
Exploitation with an education pitch
Capitol International Productions markets Elephant Encounter to fairs and festivals. Its promotional copy describes elephant behaviors as “authentic and instinctive” and promises information about family dynamics, feeding habits, and life in the wild. South Dakota State Fair used language closely matching that sales pitch, and Clay County Fair is using the same general educational framing.
The education pitch is part of the sales pitch. Fairs are buying a commercial attraction, and companies marketing elephant acts help keep that market alive.
It is outrageous to talk about elephants’ lives in the wild while hauling Kelly and Isla from one fairground crowd to the next. Calling exploitation educational does not make it humane.
Demand change at both ends of the booking
Tell Clay County Fair to cancel its September 12–20 Elephant Encounter and commit to keeping future fairs elephant-free. And tell Capitol International Productions to stop marketing and booking elephant acts for fairs and festivals.
Kelly and Isla deserve more than a change of fairgrounds. They deserve an end to this exploitation.
