People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wrote a letter Wednesday proposing to lease Elvis Presley's old Circle G Ranch in Horn Lake for use as a "Don't Be Cruel Educational Center" for children.

"This would be a good way to let kids know the truth about how cows are suffering before they're turned into burgers or blue suede shoes," said PETA spokesman Ashley Byrne of Washington.

The Circle G Ranch went up for sale a month ago with an asking price of $6.5 million, said real estate agent Rodger Motz, representing property owner Dennis McLemore.

Priscilla Presley said in May when she introduced two rescue horses at Graceland that Elvis bought the ranch as a place to ride horses. He purchased it in 1967 and kept it about four years.

The property at Goodman Road and Miss. 301 is included on several bus tours when fans gather to observe Elvis' birthday and the anniversary of his death, but no one has been able to turn it into a viable year-round tourist attraction.

Motz said the current owner had looked into several uses for the land, including as a resort property or a residential development. Motz said it now is zoned for planned unit development, although McLemore keeps cattle on the land. He said he isn't sure how many cattle McLemore has. "I didn't count them, but there are a bunch of Black Angus."

Motz said he has had inquiries from potential buyers across the United States and Europe, but is not close to agreeing to terms with anyone. And he said McLemore is "not interested in leasing it to those people," referring to PETA.

Byrne said PETA's offer is serious, and that the 2-million-member group would follow through with a rental or lease deal. "We would do something where we got it set up and have some compassionate local people involved. I'm sure that kind of planning would be done after we made the (rental) arrangements."

In the letter to McLemore, PETA executive vice president Tracy Reiman said that "in honor of the King and cows, PETA would like to turn the ranch into a 'Don't Be Cruel' center to educate students about how smart and sensitive the animals we eat really are, and why a vegan diet (no meat, no eggs and no dairy) is kindest for animals, the Earth and even our own arteries. Elvis would have benefited from going vegan, that's for sure."

-- Michael Lollar: 529-2793
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