From Don Covington

5649255274_dae8bb230d, a photo by bucklesw1 on Flickr. Have Trunk Will Travel Wins Court Case Against Animal Rights Activists’ Claims Court Rules in Favor Trainers of Elephant Of “Water for Elephants” Movie November 30, 2011 Have Trunk Will Travel and its owners, Kari and Gary Johnson, successfully defeated a lawsuit filed by members of an animal activist organization over the role of Have Trunk Will Travel’s elephant, “Tai”, in the recent movie, Water for Elephants. The judge rejected the plaintiffs’ claims for damages stemming from the publicity surrounding the movie’s release, and found in favor of the Johnsons. “We are thrilled with the result” said Gary Johnson, “We have devoted our lives to the care and well-being of Tai and our other elephants. To have to defend against these types of allegations is disheartening, especially when the publicity from the movie drew such strong support for elephant conservation and research projects”. The plaintiffs claimed that they purchased tickets to see the film Water for Elephants in reliance on representations by Have Trunk Will Travel and the Johnsons that they humanely treated the film’s star elephant, Tai. Following the release of the film, plaintiffs brought claims for unfair business practices in violation of the California Business and Professions Code, alleging that Have Trunk Will Travel trained their elephants in an inhumane manner. The Court found that, even construing the plaintiffs' allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, the allegations in the complaint simply failed to support any entitlement to relief with respect to Have Trunk Will Travel or its founders Kari and Gary Johnson. As such, the Court dismissed the lawsuit in its entirety. Have Trunk Will Travel and its founders Kari and Gary Johnson are internationally recognized experts in elephant care and training and are widely-recognized for their contributions to elephant management and husbandry. As founding members of the International Elephant Foundation, they have worked in support of conservation of wild elephants as well as research related to elephant-specific health and disease issues. They are certified by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and were recently honored by their peers with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Elephant Managers Association.