Written by PETA
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UPDATE: The deadline has passed to weigh in on the Fish and Wildlife Service's decision about keeping tigers safe from animal abusers, but we will post an update as soon as the decision is announced.
The following blog was originally posted September 9, 2011
One thing that you have to say about the notoriously abusive Hawthorn Corporation, which supplies animals for use in circuses and other shows, is that it has some nerve. Despite being cited more than 40 times for violations like feeding tigers moldy and inedible food, confining tigers for months on end in transport cages, denying them exercise or space to move around, and failing to provide veterinary care, Hawthorn has applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to force tigers to endure even more suffering by carting them around the world.
You would think that such an application, coming from a company that has accumulated $272,500 in penalties for violations of federal law, would be immediately tossed in the trash, but just to be on the safe side, PETA is appealing to the FWS to deny the application.
On a related note, a loophole in federal regulations has allowed animal abusers to harm, export, and sell endangered tigers without federal oversight if the tigers are considered "generic"—mixed breeds, in other words. The FWS is working to close that exemption.
Please ask the FWS to deny Hawthorn's application to import and exploit more tigers and voice your support to protect all tigers, "mutts" and purebreds alike.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
If you needed another reason not to do drugs, consider that it's causing misery for countless tigers, lions, monkeys, birds, and other exotic animals coveted by Mexican drug cartel kingpins as symbols of power. Mexican authorities have seized thousands of exotic "narco pets" from the estates of busted drug lords, and they're running out of room to place the animals. Many go to zoos, which are operating at capacity, so some animals are turned over to breeding operations.
When security forces arrested Sinaloa cartel leader Jesus "The King" Zambada, they confiscated more than 200 animals, including peacocks and ostriches. The animals are regarded primarily as status symbols, and many are denied proper nutrition and veterinary care. Some big cats are cruelly defanged and declawed. The cartels have also used exotic animals in the same manner as human "mules" by stuffing condoms filled with cocaine into their bodies before the animals are shipped to the U.S.
The ideal solution to this problem would be a universal ban on owning captive exotic animals. Until that happens, we can take an important step toward protecting captive tigers here in the U.S. by closing a loophole that limits protections under the Endangered Species Act for "generic" tigers—ones who are a mix of more than one sub-species of tiger or are of unknown heritage. Please take a moment to write to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and ask the agency to protect all tigers equally.
Written by Joe Taksel
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.
After hearing from PETA and concerned area residents, Glendale, California, Mayor Laura Friedman has proposed changing the city's float entry for the 2012 Tournament of Roses Parade from a "circus elephant"—which represents pain and suffering—to one of an elephant in a natural setting.
Check out the draft design idea that PETA submitted to the mayor and city council for an "Elephant Freedom" float:
Please ask the Glendale City Council to support Mayor Friedman's kind position.
Citing Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus' constant abuse of animals, several influential California humane societies—the Marin Humane Society, the East Bay SPCA, the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA, and the Sacramento SPCA—are publicly calling for a boycott of the circus, asking families to stay away from Ringling performances scheduled for the San Francisco Bay Area over the next few weeks.
The elephants used in this production—three of whom are 50 and older—are forced to perform the same silly, repetitive, and uncomfortable tricks year after year. Assan and Baby were born in Asia, were taken from their families, and have been used by Ringling for more than 40 years. At the end of the circus's recent run in Anaheim, an elephant named Sarah, a 54-year-old wild-captured elephant with a history of infection, about whom we have complained, collapsed while being loaded into a railroad car.
Kudos to these humane societies for taking a firm stand against blatant animal abuse. Please, ask your local humane society to follow their example by publicly asking families to stay away from Ringling Bros. Circus and never patronize a circus that uses live animals. Contact our Action Team for help.
UPDATE: After receiving a complaint from PETA about the incident below, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited the exhibitor who provided the tiger to UniverSoul for handling the tiger in a manner that caused her stress and unnecessary discomfort. The exhibitor was also cited for failing to maintain the tiger's enclosure in a manner that would protect her from injury.
This is not the first time that this exhibitor has violated federal law. In 2008, he was ordered to pay a $6,000 penalty after two tigers escaped while touring with UniverSoul. In the past year, he has been cited for failing to provide big cats with a proper diet and feeding big cats unsafely handled meat.
Video footage of a tiger traveling with the UniverSoul Circus showing his foot trapped beneath the sliding door to his cage has prompted PETA to fire off a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Indianapolis Animal Care & Control asking for an immediate investigation into the animal's condition. The video shows the tiger struggling to free his foot, panting, and in obvious distress.
UniverSoul rents its animal acts from exhibitors who have dismal records of animal care. The USDA has repeatedly cited UniverSoul's animal exhibitors for violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including failure to provide veterinary care, medical records, and adequate space. Undercover video footage shows one exhibitor UniverSoul has used—Tim Frisco of the Carson & Barnes Circus—viciously attacking elephants with a bullhook as they scream in pain. The circus has also had at least three tiger escapes.
Please tell the USDA that you expect it to take immediate action to assess this tiger's condition.
An elephant who was being loaded into a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus boxcar collapsed after struggling to climb the ramp, and according to an eyewitness, a Ringling crew member intimidated and forced the elephant to get up and into the railroad car. The circus was loading animals after finishing a run in Anaheim, California, and was on the way to Ontario, California. Reports indicate that the elephant who collapsed is Sarah, an elephant whose removal from performances PETA called for last month because of her poor physical condition.
Many of the elephants forced to travel with Ringling are ill and in pain. Just weeks ago, two independent veterinarians with many years of experience with elephants analyzed video footage of Ringling’s elephant walk and opening night performance in Los Angeles and determined that one of the elephants "is clinically lame to the point of being crippled. Her condition is painful and she should not be performing" and another elephant with "a lump on [her] left upper leg demonstrates obvious pelvic lameness."
Please join PETA in calling on Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait to make this the last time that Ringling comes to town and Ontario Mayor Paul S. Leon to allow an independent expert―not a Ringling lackey―to check on the elephant's condition.
Written by Jennifer O’Connor
It's official: The Carson & Barnes Circus puts people and animals at risk. Coming on the heels of three complaints that PETA filed about the circus's dangerous animal-handling methods, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has cited the circus for handling elephants in a cruel and dangerous manner. In one instance, a handler answered his cell phone and walked away even though an adult and six children were riding on an elephant's back.
The inspector also noted that a handler with no elephant experience repeatedly used "excessive force while tugging at the elephant [Viola] with" a bullhook. The report also notes "many instances" in which elephants who were being used for rides were not under the direct control and supervision of a handler, creating a "risk of serious injury to members of the public." Carson & Barnes was cited for not having a sufficient distance and/or an appropriate barrier between the elephants and members of the public, making it possible for a spectator to grab an elephant's trunk.
Please never buy a ticket to any circus that uses animals. And if you've already made the mistake of buying a ticket to the Carson & Barnes Circus, you may be entitled to a refund.
Great news on the circus front from our colleagues at Animal Defenders International: Peru's president, Alan García, has signed a law banning wild animals in circuses. The decision comes right on the heels of the British Parliament's unanimous vote to direct the government to introduce a similar ban. Legislation is also pending in Scotland, Brazil, Ecuador, and Colombia.
The use of animals in circuses has previously been abolished in Austria, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Singapore, Sweden, and many municipalities in Canada.
Most animals used in circuses are meant to roam over vast territories, but instead live chained or caged in cramped transport trailers and boxcars, allowed out only when forced to do demeaning tricks. Circuses go to great lengths to hide the dark side of the big top—that animals are torn from their families, are beaten into submission, and suffer from arthritis, foot problems, and other conditions.
Progress is being made around the world, yet the Ringling Bros. circus is still hauling sick elephants around the U.S. and forcing them to perform. Please ask federal authorities to intervene to get these ailing elephants off the road.
Sarah Silverman doesn't think there's anything funny about hurting animals. The comedian and provocateur has fired off a letter on behalf of PETA to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack asking that four ailing elephants traveling with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus be seized. These four girls are still on the road and being forced to perform despite the fact that PETA drew the U.S. Department of Agriculture's attention to this arthritis and lameness more than nine months ago.
Performing circus tricks is a painful struggle for these animals ... Yet Ringling's elephant handlers—who have zero vet experience—continually stab the animals with sharp metal rods called bullhooks in order to keep them performing despite their ailments.
Sarah points out that veterinarians have documented incontrovertible evidence showing that Nicole, Karen, Juliette and Sara are being forced to perform grueling tricks despite suffering from lameness. Nicole and Karen also suffer from painful arthritis—the number one reason that captive elephants are euthanized.
Add your voice to Sarah's by asking Secretary Vilsack to order these four hurting elephants off the road.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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