Written by PETA
Imagine having to perform strenuous physical tasks even though you were suffering from diarrhea and abdominal discomfort so severe that you were taking pain medication. That's just another day in the life of Banko, a 35-year-old female Asian elephant traveling with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus who was forced to perform even though she was sick.
Of course, this is the same Ringling show that is dragging around ailing elephant Sarah, who collapsed last month while being loaded into a boxcar in California. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cited Ringling for failing to provide Sarah with adequate veterinary care and for requiring Banko to perform (doing so was inconsistent with promoting her good health and well-being).
The USDA also issued a citation to Ringling for handling animals in a way that causes injury after a handler closed a cage door on the tail of a 9-year-old tiger named Kimba, who suffered a laceration as a result. Ringling gave every appearance that it had something to hide when it denied federal officials access to the employee who was responsible.
Tell every parent you know what's really going on at Ringling Bros. Ask them to avoid supporting circus cruelty by refusing to buy a ticket.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
We watched the circus elephants come down the street, trunks holding tails, graduated in size from largest to the very smallest. It was amazing and unbelievably cute and taking place On Our Street. They were going to the waiting parked train - something really old with fresh silver paint.
They loaded the largest elephants in one of the first cars. As I remember it was 3 to a car. The largest elephant was loaded second, and he hit his head and roared and staggered backwards on the ramp. The "handler" urged him forward and the elephant suffered another crack because the opening was too low. He had to dip his head to get in.
I hate to say that he was taken out of the car - something must have ended up wrong - how could that be? He was then reloaded again, with the the exact same consequences. Some people actually laughed but we... I can still feel him hit his head - so many years later.
I understand and fully appreciate how amazing it is to have such a legendary and engaging animal within arm's reach for a fleeting moment. Breathtaking! But let us relinquish this cruel entrapment.
Let us support the elephant preserves with their stories of old friends finding one another and the joy that their elephants express with each day. This is where our ticket money should go - to the people who can provide a piece of land for the great elephants to walk where they please.
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