Priscilla Presley's Animal Activist Work Once Caused Major Controversy

Elvis Presley once crooned about a hound dog being no friend of his, but the musician and the women in his life all became animal lovers. According to the official Graceland blog, Elvis did, indeed, own a hound — as well as a chimpanzee, mynah bird, squirrel monkey, horses, and a number of other canines.

After Elvis' daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, died, PETA released a statement honoring her for her animal advocacy. The organization singled out the memorable case of a chimpanzee that was named after her. The singer helped draw attention to the other Lisa Marie's sad life performing with an Elvis impersonator who kept her in a small cage, and the chimpanzee was rescued and released to a sanctuary in 2015, per PETA. 

On Instagram, Lisa Marie revealed that she and her twins, Harper and Finley, were fostering dogs in 2020, and according to World Animal News, her adult daughter, actor Riley Keough, did the same during the early days of the pandemic. In 2019, Priscilla Presley spoke to Closer, about passing her love of animals on to her daughter. "I think it's very important for your children to grow up with animals to show compassion for them," she said. "That they have feelings and not to be cruel with them and be patient with them." She's also willing to go to extremes to shine a spotlight on the plight of her furry friends, once going so far that she even made some fellow supporters of her cause uncomfortable.

In a 2019 interview with TravelGirl, Priscilla Presley revealed that her animal advocacy started early. "I was rescuing animals when I was only five years old. I used to hide them in my closet because my dad didn't want animals in the house," she said. Eventually, she ended up caring for half a dozen dogs, and she set out to help canines far from her Los Angeles home.

In 2018, Presley participated in a protest against South Korea's controversial dog meat trade. While standing in front of the consulate of South Korea in L.A., she cradled a dead dog. A fellow celeb protestor, actor Kim Basinger, also aimed to shock and horrify by holding up a gruesome photo of skinned dog carcasses. According to USA Today, the protest was organized by Last Chance for Animals founder Chris DeRose, who explained the message behind the canine cadavers that Presley and others held during the event: "The dogs represented those that are routinely tortured before they are hung, beaten, electrocuted or boiled alive on South Korean dog meat farms."

Some animal rights advocates spoke out against the event. "I don't appreciate how a movement is supposed to be more powerful because there's beautiful women exploiting a dead animal," one critic told the National Enquirer. A few Twitter users also expressed concern over where the carcasses came from. DeRose didn't reveal how the dogs died, but told USA Today they came from a shelter.

The noble steed is another animal that's close to Priscilla Presley's heart. Speaking to Sidelines in 2013, she revealed that her love of horses stems from one of the best gifts she ever received from Elvis Presley: her beloved quarter horse, Domino. Priscilla recalled, "I got right on him and started riding around and the rest is kind of history."

Soon, Graceland would also become home to a number of Tennessee walking horses. The breed is known for the unnatural, high-stepping gait that they're trained to perform for competitions. Presley eventually learned that a painful practice known as soring is used to make the horses walk this way. Methods vary, but often involve using chains and chemicals on their legs. Priscilla began campaigning to get the practice banned, and she almost achieved her goal during Barack Obama's presidency. But when Donald Trump took office, he placed a hold on a USDA rule that would ban soring. "I'm hoping that President Trump will have it in his heart to take a look at this and show his compassion for animals," Presley told The Tennessean. "It would be a wonderful sign that he is a compassionate man."

The ban wasn't put on the books during the Trump administration, and according to Horse Network, passage of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act was prevented by a few senators in 2022. So, as of this writing, Priscilla's support is still very much needed.