Last year, elephants from one of the circuses that tour many French towns in the summer months were allowed on to the beach at Granville, in Normandy, to exercise and paddle in the waves.
But inspectors checking water quality found traces of their droppings in the sea and issued a warning over health standards at the beach, which is popular with French and foreign holidaymakers.
http://www.canada.com/travel/French+town+b...8858/story.html