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Animal Wrongs?

Readers express concerns for elephants; vets respond Readers express concerns for elephants; vets respond The article "Hooray for Howlywood" in the May/June 2011 issue about Jim Peddie, DVM '65, and Linda Reeve Peddie, DVM '65, and their work for Have Trunk Will Travel brings unfortunate notoriety to Cornell Alumni Magazine now that HTWT has been […]

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Readers express concerns for elephants; vets respond

Readers express concerns for elephants; vets respond

The article "Hooray for Howlywood" in the May/June 2011 issue about Jim Peddie, DVM '65, and Linda Reeve Peddie, DVM '65, and their work for Have Trunk Will Travel brings unfortunate notoriety to Cornell Alumni Magazine now that HTWT has been exposed in the media abusing elephants with savage beatings and electrocution. I sincerely hope that the Peddies and this magazine will apologize to the elephants and to animal lovers for this intolerable abuse. I would also hope that the Peddies donate their earnings from HTWT to elephant sanctuaries where elephants can live free from abuse.

Robert J. Goldman '86, DVM
Santa Monica, California

Ed. Note: In addition to Dr. Goldman's letter, we received several messages from non-Cornellians that contained links to videos showing alleged abuse of elephants by Have Trunk Will Travel. Jim and Linda Peddie respond: "We truly appreciate concern expressed for the welfare of elephants. Because we share that concern, we have committed our professional efforts toward improving the lives of elephants, as have the staff at Have Trunk Will Travel. During the years we have provided veterinary care for the elephants at HTWT, we have never witnessed mis-treatment by any elephant handler. What we have seen is elephants working with handlers developing behaviors critical to improving the care provided to them, and to generating the income necessary to sustain them. It is reprehensible that a guest at HTWT would use video clips generated years earlier to vilify his hosts—to what end? Someone could just as easily fabricate an equally damning piece using clips from interaction with household pets or children. This is surely the cruelest use of social networking. Meanwhile, the staff at HTWT are working long, hard hours to provide for the majestic animals they love and respect. In addition, they are raising funds for research to eliminate elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus, a very real threat to an already endangered species."

For more information, see this blog entry by Donald Smith, DVM, professor of surgery and dean emeritus of the College of Veterinary Medicine: http:// veterinarylegacy.blogspot.com/2011/04/ water-for-elephants-is-not-enough.html.

Frank Talk

Your feature article on Frank Robinson and what he means to Cornell ("It's a Wonderful Life," May/June 2011) couldn't be more deserved and timely. He is one of the University's stars in what he has accomplished at the Johnson and is as bright, wonderfully articulate, focused and—perhaps most important—kind as any person I've known. His prolific output of Haiku, which he shares annually with members of the museum, is additional evidence of his talents. Thanks for this coverage.

Haiku verse by Frank
Is fun in not demanding
Very high I.Q.

Jim Hazzard '50
Ithaca, New York

I can understand the aesthetic appeal of Alberto Giacometti's Walking Man II, but similar works are found in major museums around the world. Frank Robinson would have been wiser to accept the $104 million offered for it. That money would go a long way to meet the unique needs of the museum while Giacometti's art could easily be viewed elsewhere.

Gerald Schneider '61
Kensington, Maryland

Ed. Note: Well, we respectfully disagree. We think Frank Robinson has done a superb job of meeting "the unique needs of the museum" without selling off its treasures.

In the article about Frank Robinson, the sentence that reads, "The building's original plans—by the firm of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, with John Sullivan '62, BArch '63, as architect in charge . . ." would be more accurate if it referred to I. M. Pei & Partners. That was the name of the architecture firm in the early Seventies, when Pei designed the Johnson Museum. Pei Cobb Freed & Partners is the name of the firm today; that firm designed the new addition to the museum, with John Sullivan still the architect in charge. I. M. Pei, though still living, has not been an active member of the firm since 1990.

Maddy Gell Handler '65
New Haven, Connecticut

Correction—May/June 2011

"It's a Wonderful Life" (page 34): Due to an editing error, our article about Frank Robinson failed to mention his full title. He is the Richard J. Schwartz Director of the Johnson Museum. Our apologies to Frank Robinson and Richard Schwartz for this unfortunate oversight.

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