An elephant in Jersey? Fuhgeddaboudit.

World Animal Protection activates multiple actions throughout New Jersey to urge Six Flags to Free Joyce the elephant

NEW YORK, Aug. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, on World Elephant Day, World Animal Protection has launched multiple activations to demand that Joyce, an elephant living in captivity at Six Flags Great Adventure and Wild Safari theme park in Jackson Township, New Jersey, be released to a wildlife sanctuary.

Joyce, an African Elephant, was brought to the US from the wilds of Zimbabwe in the 1980s after most of her herd was killed in the government's elephant culling operation. Since arriving in the US alongside 62 other orphaned elephants, Joyce has suffered a traumatic history of performances, isolation, and stress, regularly sold and traded between zoos, circuses, and other captive attractions, according to The Elephant Database.

World Animal Protection is targeting New Jersey locals, in particular, to take action to what is happening in their backyard. Through multiple activations, World Animal Protection is demonstrating the growing pressure on Six Flags to release Joyce and the four other elephants at the theme park and permanently shut down the elephant exhibit.

Elephants do not exist for our amusement or profit. They deserve to thrive in protected habitats or, for formerly exploited elephants like Joyce, who cannot return to the wild, in wildlife sanctuaries.

For the month of August, there will be two large billboards on Route 9, less than 20 miles from Six Flags Great Adventure. One billboard asks, "An elephant in Jersey? Fuhgeddaboudit," and the other declares, "Keep animals wild. Except Uncle Tony. Keep him in Newark."

The organization has also partnered with local? sand sculpture artists, John and Laura Gowdy, to create a sculpture honoring Joyce in Ventnor City, NJ. Just one hour from Six Flags, the sculpture will amplify Joyce's story and the campaign to release her to a sanctuary.

Nicole Barrantes, Wildlife World Animal Protection, US, states:

"Since she was a baby, Joyce has been exploited for entertainment—shuffled between circuses and zoos and now confined to a barren enclosure at Six Flags, surrounded by the roar of rollercoasters and rumble of safari trucks. This isn't a 'great adventure'—it's a life sentence. She deserves freedom and the chance to live out her days in peace at a sanctuary."

Lastly, members of World Animal Protection will travel to Six Flags Great Adventure to deliver over 60,000 petition signatures gathered in the first year of the public campaign to free Joyce. The campaign comes amid a growing, broader movement in the US to end elephant captivity and entertainment altogether.

Moving Joyce and the four other elephants to legitimate sanctuaries offers them the best opportunity to lead fulfilling lives. Six Flags is an amusement park. Its attractions and exhibits are designed to thrill and entertain paying customers. But elephants are not theme park attractions. They are living beings who deserve to live on their own terms with the freedom to make decisions without human interference.

Take action by emailing the CEO, President, and Head Veterinarian of Six Flags with this one-click action. 

Notes to Editors: 

For more information contact:
Jeanne Turkheimer, Communications and Influencer Relations Manager
[email protected] 646- 783-2210

About World Animal Protection 

World Animal Protection is a global organization working to end animal exploitation. We expose cruel systems, promote animal-friendly alternatives, and influence policy change. For 75 years, we've been rewriting the story for animals.

Working across almost 50 countries with offices in 12, we prioritize animals in farming and wild animals exploited for use in entertainment, as pets, and in fashion.

SOURCE World Animal Protection