Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
To amplify efforts to rescue Betty—the 56-year-old disabled elephant who is being forced to perform in roughly 300 circus shows each year—PETA sent a letter today to Alice in Chains, asking the iconic grunge band to temporarily change its name to “Betty in Chains.” As PETA notes in its letter, the short-term name change would turn up the volume on the plight of the elderly elephant, who has literally spent her life in chains—and who an elephant expert has warned is in danger of a fatal collapse if she’s not immediately released to a reputable sanctuary.
“By the time grunge swept Seattle, Betty had already spent nearly twenty years suffering as a circus prop, and every day that passes with her being hauled from town to town and forced to perform brings her closer to the brink of death,” says PETA Senior Vice President of Communications Lisa Lange. “PETA is encouraging Alice in Chains to get loud for Betty with a temporary name change that reminds everyone to Stay Away from animal-abusing circuses.”
In nature, elephants enjoy playing with their families, foraging for fresh vegetation, and bathing in rivers—yet Betty was torn from her home in Thailand as a baby and has been held captive by the notorious Carden family for decades. Elephants used in Carden circuses are beaten, whipped, caged, chained, and forced to perform even when they’re sick, elderly, or injured, like Betty, who appears withdrawn and unresponsive, frequently standing still with her eyes closed and her trunk on the ground. PETA encourages everyone to urge the Carden Circus to go animal-free and let Betty and all the animals live in peace.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
PETA’s letter to Alice in Chains follows.
Dear Jerry, Sean, Mike, and William,
Coming to you with a wonderfully strange request from us at PETA. Would Alice in Chains be willing to go by Betty in Chains across social media—for a month—to spotlight a dear elephant who literally spends her life in chains?
In a nutshell, we’re turning up the volume on our efforts to rescue an elderly, disabled elephant named Betty, who is being forced to perform in roughly 300 circuses each year. Betty’s over 56 years old, was taken as a baby from Thailand, and has been used in circuses for more than five decades. An elephant expert who recently examined Betty warns that she faces a fatal collapse if not immediately retired to a reputable sanctuary.
By lending (a version of) your iconic name, you could set the stage for freedom, amplify her story to millions, and change the course of history for all animals used in circuses.
Will you help us show the world that Betty’s not fighting this battle alone?
Let’s make some noise,
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
