Paige — a roughly 4-ton African elephant brought into the Houston convention hall after Greg Abbott’s keynote — stopped mid-procession Friday and urinated on the Texas Republican convention floor, according to videos shared online.
The live elephant was meant as a larger-than-life display of Republican symbolism and convention enthusiasm, with organizers telling delegates to expect a surprise and to keep aisles clear before Paige entered wearing a campaign-themed banner.
Video of the incident quickly spread online, with the Texas Democratic Party mocking it as a metaphor for the GOP while replies to the state party’s own post condemned using the animal as a political prop.
Paige belongs to East Texas Elephant Experience, which sells $125 visitor encounters and rents out elephants; animal-rights groups have accused the facility of chaining, transporting and exploiting Paige and two other elephants.
African elephants are classified as endangered, turning the convention stunt into a wider flashpoint over the treatment of a threatened species for political spectacle.