Written by Jennifer OConnor
Over the years, the Liebel Family Circus has tried to evade scrutiny by operating under a variety of different names, but owner Hugo Liebel's deplorable treatment of animals continues to catch up with him. Having already been fined nearly $3,000 for violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act, Liebel has now been charged by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with 33 new violations, including keeping an elephant named Nosey chained so tightly by two legs that she could barely move and allowing manure to accumulate in her feet, potentially exposing her to serious infections. Other violations charged include leaving a chained monkey on a pony's back unattended for an hour.
PETA has been filing complaints against the circus since a whistleblower contacted us in 2004 to let us know that he had been knocked off his feet by Nosey. Liebel has repeatedly failed to provide Nosey with adequate veterinary care for a chronic skin ailment and her overgrown footpads. (Foot ailments are the leading cause of death in captive elephants.) We've filed more than a dozen complaints since 2009 about Nosey and the other animals traveling with Liebel, including several that were filed just prior to the USDA inspections that resulted in some of the charges.
USDA charges and fines are always welcome, but they won't necessarily put circuses using animals out of business. It is up to the public to put an end to the abuse by refusing to buy tickets.
Written by PETA
Last year, Renningers Farmers & Flea Market in Mount Dora, Florida, banned elephant rides after PETA provided evidence of Liebel Family Circus' long list of USDA violations, its history of animal neglect and abuse, and the unavoidable risks posed by elephant rides. Now we are hoping that Daytona Beach, Florida, will follow suit, thanks to footage taken during Liebel's March visit to the city.
In 2005, Liebel Family Circus entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and was assessed a civil penalty of $2,885 for multiple violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA), including failure to provide adequate space and veterinary care for animals, failure to have an experienced elephant handler, and failure to provide a safety barrier between the animals and the public. And it's easy to see why from this footage. Talk about a disturbing picture: An individual who was charged with controlling an elephant named Nosey holds a toddler by one hand and in the other holds a bullhook—a sharp, steel-tipped device that workers use to strike, stab, hook, prod, and intimidate elephants in order to make them obey. Not only that, but at one point Nosey was allowed to pick up a bucket while people were on her back. If she'd decided to throw the bucket, someone could have been seriously injured.
In light of this evidence of dangerous misconduct at Liebel's stop in Daytona Beach, PETA has sent the footage to the city's mayor along with a letter asking him to support legislation to prohibit elephant rides in the city.
In the wild, elephants travel in family groups, and female elephants stay with their mothers for their entire lives. Elephants who are trapped in circuses and forced to live in boxcars and endure years of abuse often become depressed and neurotic. Nosey, Liebel's only elephant, has been with the circus for decades and has already attacked at least one of Liebel's employees. In 2004, Nosey injured a worker, and after you read the worker's affidavit to the USDA, you can't really blame the elephant for her outrage. In the report, the worker recounts the frequent use of electric shock devices on the elephant and details an incident in which a trainer "used the bullhook handle, turned off the lights in the performance ring and beat the elephant. He at the time directed others to take part in that by using other objects such as [a] sledge hammer and shovel handles. At that time, the elephant was staked down by all four legs …." The employee also states that Nosey's attack "was not the first time the elephant had reached or struck out at people who worked at the circus."
Want to help shut down circuses that abuse and neglect animals? Refuse to go and tell your friends and family members to do the same.
Written by Logan Scherer
After finding out that Renninger's Farmers and Flea Market in Mount Dora, Florida, was offering rides on a female African elephant named Nosey, we immediately contacted the manager and alerted him to the dangers that elephant rides pose to both elephants and the public. After listening to our concerns and hearing from local citizens, Renninger's canceled the rides. Yay!
Most people don't realize that captive elephants are beaten, chained, and denied almost everything that is natural and important to them. This understandably causes aggression and poses a risk to humans—since 1990, rampaging elephants have killed 13 people and injured 120. Just a couple weeks ago, 12 children were injured by an elephant at the Shrine Circus, and in 2004, Nosey herself hit a Liebel Family Circus employee on the back of the head with her trunk, sending him to the hospital. I'm guessing that the parents who let their children take a ride on Nosey had no knowledge of this attack.
To be fair to Nosey—and all captive elephants—it's pretty clear what they're so mad about. After Nosey's outburst in 2004, the injured man described an incident in which a trainer "used the bullhook handle, turned off the lights in the performance ring, and beat the elephant." The trainer also encouraged others to take part in the abuse by striking her with objects such as a sledgehammer and shovel handles. When the USDA investigated the facility, they found that the Liebel Family Circus was not providing the animals in its care with adequate food, shelter, or veterinary care.
Don't you agree that it's time to put a permanent end to the abuse of elephants in circuses?
Written by Liz Graffeo
Blayne Doyle, a retired Florida police officer, had several harrowing experiences during his many years on the force. He was shot and stabbed and was involved in life-threatening automobile, motorcycle, and airplane accidents. But if you were to ask him which event stuck out as the most frightening, he would tell you that it was the day he was forced to shoot and kill an 8,000-pound rampaging elephant named Janet, who was carrying a woman and five children on her back. Yesterday was the 17th anniversary of this tragic event. Sadly, not much has changed in the intervening years. For example, the Liebel Family Circus, which tours throughout Florida, is currently using an elephant named Nosey to give rides.
Blayne has reached out to the governor of Florida, Charlie Crist, asking him to ban elephant rides in Florida. You can read Blayne's moving letter here.
The most shocking part to me is that, in 2004, a circus worker reported that Nosey attacked him during an appearance in Clinton, Iowa. While the worker was tending to the elephant's water dish, Nosey hit him with her tusk, lifted him off his feet, and propelled him down an incline. The worker was rushed to the hospital and received stitches for a head injury. But somehow it's safe to let children ride on Nosey's back? I don't think so.
So, Gov. Crist, won't you please ban elephant rides in Florida? By doing so, not only will you send the powerful message that elephants should not be abused for entertainment, you might also prevent history from repeating itself.
We were blown away when we read that Jess Origliasso, one-half of the gorgeous pop duo The Veronicas, feels the way she does about the nasty fur trade.
Not only is Jess fur-free, but she certainly ain't shy about lettin' the world know it. She told Confidential, "Death for these animals is a horror story—the most common method used for killing foxes is electrocution. I can't speak for Lisa [her twin and bandmate], but I admire the approach to the eye-catching photo shoots PETA [does] to get the important message out there." Wow! Well-worded, and thanks for the shout-out!
She's so bold with her animal rights message that she's even worn a faux fur jacket that reads "F*** Fur." In-your-face sass like this makes her fans set down their soy mochas, snap their necks, and say "Daaaaaang!" at how fly this girl is.
Written by Missy Lane
We approached Spirit Airlines about buying ad space for our G-rated and quite cute "Let Birds Keep Their Wings" ad, which promotes going vegetarian. After Spirit offered us some bogus reasons for rejecting the ad (too small a buy, it only accepts industry ads), we got to the bottom of it. Spirit admitted that it just doesn't want to work with us at all, period. It would rather carry on irritating its flight attendants and captains with ads that have caused a staff uproar for featuring specials for "Double D's," "Red Light Specials," and a "MILF Sale." See our proposed ad below:
We have sent a letter to Patricia Friend, president of the Association of Flight Attendants–Communications Workers of America, asking for support. We figure that most flight attendants would prefer not to have to deal with heart-attacks that may be linked to meat-heavy diets anyway.
Written by Lianne Turner
Going green is on everyone's mind lately—but unfortunately, Indiana is having trouble in that area because of a severe shortage of another type of green …
Basic recycling programs have come under the budget-cutting ax. But don't go grey over it: We've got a suggestion that could save our Hoosier cousins from a real trash flow problem.
We've written to Thomas Easterly, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, offering to pay to put creative advertising all over the state's recycling trucks. Check out our letter to Mr. Easterly here.
PETA's point is that in addition to causing immense suffering to animals, meat production is the leading cause of greenhouse-gas emissions and contributes to other forms of pollution such as depletion of aquifers and pollution of waterways. But a picture is worth a thousand words, so check this out:
Written by Christine Doré
San Juan Capistrano has its swallows and Austin has its bats, but who knew that Singer Island, Florida, has its sharks? Lifeguards have reported seeing a thousand sharks this week off just one beach during the sharks' annual migration south. (Check out this video footage that some surfers shot of a spinner shark leaping and twirling out of the water just a few yards away. Da-yum!)
The enormous number of sharks has forced the beaches to close—but they've also drawn a swarm of gawkers and media cameras. And you have to know that wherever gawkers and media cameras can be found, PETA can't be far away. Yup, we've hired a plane to fly up and down the oceanfront tomorrow bearing the message, "Sharks aren't the only dangerous predators. Go vegetarian."
Every year, more than 50 million sharks and billions of other sea animals are killed and eaten by human beings—in contrast, fewer than a dozen people worldwide were killed by sharks last year. Many species of sharks and other fish have been decimated by overfishing—it's estimated that 29 percent of fish species have "collapsed," or declined by 90 percent over the past 50 years.
That's why we're making the case that the world's most dangerous predators aren't in the water at all—they're lined up at the all-you-can-eat seafood buffet.
Written by Alisa Mullins
Because it's the only way he can get out of the mud! Fortunately, this South Carolina dog and two dozen others are now high and dry—literally—thanks to the intervention of a concerned citizen, a plucky animal control officer, and PETA.
The dog's owner—the word "guardian" wouldn't fit the bill here!—kept 15 dogs in mud-filled pens and another 15 on top of each other inside his mobile home (seen in the background of this photo). We think he fits the description of a hoarder—a person who compulsively collects animals in the same way that someone might collect newspapers or stuffed toys. Most hoarders claim to be "saving" animals from euthanasia at animal shelters—some even call themselves "rescue groups" or "no-kill shelters" and have catchy, appealing names for their hellholes. All hoarders have a compulsion to collect (and usually neglect) animals and a total inability to recognize the horrific misery and often slow death that they are imposing on the animals.
This man claimed to be trying to create a new "designer" breed, but there's no indication that he ever planned to sell any of the dogs, and he didn't have a breeding license. Nor did he provide the dogs with anything close to adequate protection from the elements, as you can see in the photos below.
Catch this: South Carolina authorities claim that the only law this man was breaking was in failing to provide the dogs with clean water, which is a misdemeanor. South Carolina's cruelty laws are so vague that the broken pallets, rags, tarps, and pieces of plywood that were the dogs' only "shelter" were deemed to not be in violation.
After a delicate round of negotiations, PETA's Cruelty Investigations Division was able to coordinate a meeting between the man and an animal control officer (who had previously been barred from the property by the man—under threat of being shot). At the meeting, the man agreed to relinquish most of the dogs.
If you’re moved by this story please take a moment to help with other cruelty cases by participating in PETA’s Action Alerts.
Veggie Love—our ad that we tried to air during the upcoming Super Bowl but that was rejected by NBC—has sparked mega-interest in the sex appeal of bok choy and broccoli! From CNN and Fox News to the Huffington Post—and Whoopi Goldberg acting out the ad on The View—everyone's in the mood … for steaming-hot vegetables.
Some sillies have labeled the video as NSFW and NSFTSB because of the sexual theme and scantily clad women, but others have rightly pointed out that PETA is not alone in such advertising.
Does anyone remember the Carl's Jr. commercial in which a woman rides a mechanical bull while chowing down on a greasy beef burger? I guess a bump and grind with a mechanical animal is somehow less suggestive than playfully licking a pumpkin?
Part of the debate surrounding the ad has been about the beautiful actresses who lent their talents for it. Our behind-the-scenes video gives you an insiders' look at the set of "Veggie Love," and Cassie (the hot tub girl) talks about her lives and loves. Amanda goes into the whole group thing, but that's another story …
Written by Amy Cook
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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.