Boswell Circus members face cruelty charges

TWO owners of the controversial Brian Boswell Circus, as well as their elephant ringmaster, appeared in court yesterday for allegedly contravening the Animal Protection Act.

The charges stem from an incident in December 2012 when employees were filmed allegedly beating the circus elephants and chaining them up at a school in Port Elizabeth.

Brian Boswell’s wife, Jane, who is in her 60s, their daughter Georgina, 42, and elephant handler and ringmaster David Marais, 36, appeared briefly in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court yesterday morning. They are all out on warning. According to the charge sheet, as the owners of the animals the three accused caused, procured or assisted in the commission or omission of an act to beat, goad or terrify them.

The charge sheet states further that they chained up the animals without adequate shelter from the heat and did not give them sufficient water.

Cases of animal cruelty were reported to the police in December 2012 by the National Council of SPCAs when an animal charity volunteer filmed employees of the circus allegedly beating the elephants, with blows hitting their faces.

In the footage, a man in an orange top and blue pants can be seen continuously beating the large animals on various parts of their bodies.

A second man is then seen stroking an elephant on his tusk, and as soon as the elephant seems calm, he begins beating him in the face.

The men in the video were not before court yesterday.

According to a person involved in the case, the men had since been fired and their whereabouts was unknown.

The circus had been set up at Walmer West Primary School in Port Elizabeth at the time of the alleged incidents.

The footage was aired on investigative television show Carte Blanche in 2013 and caused a major outcry.

After it was aired, the school banned the circus from its premises for any future events.

Georgina Boswell said at the time that the incident was an isolated case.

Although comment was not readily available from Brian Boswell Circus yesterday, its website claims that the animals are an integral part of the circus and are treated as part of the family.

“Their well-being is of the utmost importance,” it states.

The case was postponed to February 17 to enable the prosecution and the defence to consult with the senior public prosecutor.