Floyd Smith--St. Louis Zoo

You will note the Mr. Smith has a "Lockhart hook" which has been discussed on Buckles Blog. You will also note he is working the elephants by himself. In the last picture you will note 3 people with 3 elephants. The whip is used to work with a large group of animals, as an extension of your arms. Because a whip is perceived as a tool of punishment by the public, it's use has stopped necessitating more people helping. A whip like spurs, are as Mr. Herriott pointed out falsely in regards to the Vos Concellos, bad depending on who is using it. Lash whips used for controlling large groups of animals are still used with liberty horses, but are no longer used for elephants, and are frowned on for cats. Maybe a reason the quality of acts have declined? We say they aren't bad, but quit using them. Spurs have been pointed out as being bad, but they are still used. Wrong fact's/patching I feel has led to the invalidity with the animal rights movement.