From Kari Johnson

Happy 4th of July! We never appreciate our freedom and democratic system of government more that when we first arrive home from another country. The USA truly is the land of plenty. We have so many freedoms and rights that we tend to take it all for granted. It pains us to see the animal rights extremist groups, especially the ones that originate in other countries, take advantage of our right to freedom of speech, abuse our court system by filing frivolous lawsuits and compare our use of animals to slavery or the Holocaust as cheap PR stunts. People often ask how we are able to deal with the constant harassment, threats and slander day after day, year after year from these groups. We deal with it because it's the right thing to do and really, we don’t have a choice. The alternative is to give in and not train our elephants or to have them at all because they should be “free”. We know that their idea of freedom for elephants is sending them to a sanctuary, which ultimately means their extinction. We are willing to fight for the right to live with, care for and work with our elephants. We know that our elephants raise awareness and compassion in people. We know that the countless health research projects that we participate in and help fund are helping elephants all over the world. We know that the love and care we give our elephants is exactly what they need and deserve. There have been times when we are so tired, mentally drained and physically ill from all the angst the animal rights extremist groups cause that it takes all of our will to keep up the battle. The freedom to stand up and fight for what is right and what we believe in is exactly what our forefathers fought so hard to earn for us. We appreciate their foresight, perseverance and their sacrifice. We are grateful to live in a country where we have the right to fight for what we believe in, where we are able to live our dream of spending every day with elephants, even if it means fighting the animal rights extremist groups that would take them out of our care and drive elephants to extinction. Save a species – Ride an Elephant and God bless America!