Talk:Elephant execution in the United States

Topsy
This list has a very narrow WP:LISTCRITERIA, namely members have to be executed. Per ''Nance, Susan (2013). Entertaining Elephants: Animal Agency and the Business of the American Circus'' and several contemporaneous newspaper accounts Topsy meets the lists exclusion criteria "elephant euthanasia", they describe how she was put down because they could no longer maintain her. Topsy is also excluded per WP:WIKIVOICE / "If different reliable sources make conflicting assertions about a matter, treat these assertions as opinions rather than facts, and do not present them as direct statements." "execution" is a very direct statement. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 13:01, 7 December 2023 (UTC)


 * it's so funny. Of all the things the things that might be problematic about this article Topsy's inclusion never even crossed my mind as a possible point of dispute! So I don't really know what to say. I'm not trying to force a POV and the distinction between animal euthanasia and animal execution probably has a lot of qualitative, emotional attributes I'm not equipped to evaluate, but yeah, I don't know, I mean...they sure did make an extravagant show out of killing her publicly. jengod (talk) 15:05, 7 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Yeah, that's the thing, Topsy ranks right up there re: "animals killed as a public spectacle". That would be another list and feel free to put her at the top of that one. But WP:WIKIVOICE is policy, we really can't make a claim she was specifically executed. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 22:08, 7 December 2023 (UTC)