PETA supporters plan to chain themselves outside the Loomis Bros. Circus at the South Florida Fairgrounds Expo Center on Tuesday night, demanding that a 56-year-old elephant named Okha be retired to a sanctuary. The demonstration is set for 7 p.m. at Gate 12 of the fairgrounds at 9067 Southern Blvd. in West Palm Beach, with protesters planning to dress in prison uniforms and crying-elephant masks for what PETA has dubbed the “Free Okha!” demonstration.
According to CBS12, PETA alleges Okha is overweight, has difficulty moving, and struggles to lie down and stand up, despite continuing to perform and give rides at circus shows. The station reports PETA supporters wearing prison uniforms with crying-elephant masks will be chained outside the circus as part of the demonstration. In a news release, PETA described Okha as a 56-year-old, morbidly obese elephant who struggles to move but is still being forced to perform and give rides, according to PETA.
Allegations of Isolation and a Decades-Old Charge
PETA alleges that Okha was stolen from her home and family in India as a baby and has been kept in isolation since 2022. The organization argues that those conditions are inconsistent with elephants' naturally social behavior. PETA also accuses exhibitor Brian Franzen of yanking Okha with a sharp metal-tipped bullhook, and the group says it has cited footage it describes as showing Franzen yanking and striking an elephant in the face with a bullhook.
PETA says Franzen has previously been charged with felony cruelty to animals, pointing to a 1998 felony animal-cruelty charge after investigators found several emaciated ponies in a trailer — a case PETA says Franzen ultimately pleaded guilty to, according to the organization's feature page on Okha. A separate federal document reviewed as part of this report appears to reference enforcement actions against an exhibitor doing business as Franzen Bros Circus involving a different elephant named Megu, though that record is a low-confidence search snippet that does not establish the substance or outcome of any action.
PETA's Spokesperson Calls for Retirement
PETA Foundation Managing Director Calls for Retirement PETA Foundation Managing Director of Captive Wildlife Debbie Metzler said Loomis Bros. should stop cruelty and allow the ailing, elderly elephant to retire to a reputable sanctuary. The group says footage reviewed by experts earlier this year estimated Okha's body condition at 5/5, and PETA says it has held demonstrations for Okha in cities across the country as part of its broader campaign.
PETA points to recent shifts elsewhere in the industry as evidence its pressure campaign is working. The group says Mysterious Circus, which used Okha, dropped all animal acts in 2025 after hearing from more than 50,000 PETA supporters, and that Jordan World Circus removed elephants from its shows this year. Those changes echo a broader pattern in elephant retirement nationally — a CNN report from 2021 described 12 retired female Asian elephants arriving at White Oak Conservation outside Jacksonville and being released into a forest habitat.
Circus Has Not Yet Responded
CBS12 News has asked Loomis Bros. Circus for comment on the allegations and on Okha's care, and the station says it is awaiting a response. No statement from the circus or from Franzen was available at the time of this report, and the claims about Okha's weight, mobility, isolation and treatment remain allegations made by PETA rather than independently confirmed facts.
