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Journalist Discovers The Truth About Circus Elephants

Carol Bradley, author of Last Chain on Billie: How One Extraordinary Elephant Escaped the Big Top, talks about the cruel lives of circus elephants and what we can do to stop it.

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About the book:

Against the backdrop of a glittering but brutal circus world, Carol Bradley's Last Chain on Billie charts the history of elephants in America, the inspiring story of the Elephant Sanctuary, and the spellbinding tale of a resilient elephant who defied the system.

Left in the wild, Billie the elephant would have spent her days surrounded by family, free to wander the jungles of Asia. Instead, traders captured her as a baby and shipped her to America, where she learned to carry humans, stand on a tub and balance on one leg – the full repertoire of elephant tricks. For decades, Billie crisscrossed the country, dazzling audiences as she performed breathtaking stunts. But behind the scenes she lived a life of misery: traveling in trucks, chained for hours on end, barely able to move, giving eight-minute performances under harsh lights and to the sounds of blaring music. And worse. Finally, she got a lucky break. As part of the largest elephant rescue in American history, Billie wound up at a sanctuary for performing elephants in Tennessee, able once more to roam through open meadows and share her days with a herd. She would never be beaten again. But, overcome with anxiety, she withdrew from the rest of the elephants and refused to let anyone remove a chain still clamped around her leg. Her caregivers began to wonder if Billie could ever escape her emotional wounds. The compelling story of Billie’s battle to reclaim her old self is a testament to the intelligence, emotional complexity and remarkable strength of all elephants, captive or free.

Carol Bradley
Credit Cindy Cieluch
Carol Bradley, author of LAST CHAIN ON BILLIE

EleCam at the Elephant Sanctuary: Hohenwald, Tennessee.

Carol Bradley spent many years as a newspaper reporter in her home state of Tennessee, and in New York, Washington D.C., and Montana. She studied Animal Law as a Nieman fellow at Harvard in 2004 and afterward began work her my first book: Saving Gracie: How one dog escaped the shadowy world of American puppy mill . Last Chain on Billie is her second book. Carol Bradley lives in Great Falls, Montana, with her husband and three dogs.

Chérie Newman is a former arts and humanities producer and on-air host for Montana Public Radio, and a freelance writer. She founded and previously hosted a weekly literary program, The Write Question, which continues to air on several public radio stations; it is also available online at PRX.org and MTPR.org.
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