Written by PETA
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.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
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.
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
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will go far and wide to find more animals to exploit. Feld Entertainment, which owns this wretchedly cruel circus, has applied to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) to import eight tigers and one leopard who are currently being used in a circus in Germany. PETA has submitted comments and extensive supporting materials in opposition to this application, including a statement from a renowned tiger expert.
The Endangered Species Act prohibits the importation of endangered species except for "scientific purposes" or to benefit the survival of the species. Hard to make any of that comport with Ringling's desire to haul the big cats around in boxcars and use whips to make them hop on their hind legs.
Federal law also strictly prohibits transporting any endangered species in the course of a "commercial activity," and there is no question that the Ringling Bros. Circus is exactly that. The law further prohibits harming, harassing, and wounding endangered species and requires that they be maintained under humane and healthful conditions. Ringling's well-documented history of animal abuse is clearly grounds to reject its import application, as PETA points out:
Please share this troubling information with all the parents you know and urge them never to buy a ticket to Ringling or any circus using animals.
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.
Zina and Jewel, two aging elephants who have spent nearly their entire lives with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (Jewel since 1954 and Zina since 1972), have been "donated" by the circus to the Little Rock Zoo. Some "retirement": The Little Rock Zoo still uses the cruel and archaic free-contact system to control elephants, which means that Zina and Jewel have not escaped the bullhooks and chains.
In testimony during a trial to answer charges that Ringling's elephant handling practices violated the federal Endangered Species Act, the circus's general manager admitted Zina and Jewel (and five other elephants) were all chained by two legs in a concrete barn at Ringling's Florida breeding and "retirement" center for 16 hours a day. Another witness testified that he had to cover more than 20 oozing wounds with Wonder Dust (a gray powder used to camouflage wounds) after Zina was beaten with a bullhook.
Considering the long hours spent chained on hard concrete floors, it's no wonder that Jewel is suffering from severe arthritis. Many of the elephants used by Ringling have joint problems, like Sara, who is far younger than Jewel but already suffering from painful lameness, which will likely lead to arthritis as she ages.
Ringling raked in millions of dollars over the decades that it hauled these elephants around the country, but instead of retiring them to a sanctuary, the circus "rewarded" them by dumping them at a zoo for more years of exploitation.
Please never buy a ticket to the circus, and ask the Little Rock Zoo to stop using bullhooks and chains on elephants.
Despite undercover footage of Ringling and Carson & Barnes Circus showing that they treat animals cruelly, both circuses are still trying to deceive people to keep their sales alive. PETA knows that these circuses hurt elephants, and we want to force them to come clean.
We believe that both of these big-top bullies are illegally deceiving the public and must give refunds and monetary restitution to people who were tricked into purchasing tickets, only to be horrified when they learned the truth about what their money supported. So if you or someone you know is a California resident who bought a ticket for one of these shows and would like a refund, call us today at 757-373-0968.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
A photojournalist spent days riding through the Burmese jungle on a motorbike in an attempt to capture on film how elephants are "trained" before being smuggled out of Burma and sold into slavery to perform in circuses and street shows in Thailand. Brent Lewin's prize-winning photograph is leaving viewers horrified in disbelief.
During the training session that Lewin witnessed, a baby elephant tried in vain to turn away and shield herself from the blows. Her mother was tied up where she could see what was happening. Lewin said, "I've never heard an elephant scream like that before …." The baby was beaten until she began to cry, her spirit broken. During these training sessions, animals are typically tied up and beaten for days. Says Lewin, "There was a point when the elephant just resigned to what was happening and stood still, the life in her eyes disappeared. It was a look that was haunting."
Elephants who are forced to perform in any type of act are beaten until they comply. Please, don't patronize any elephant act at home or abroad. To help elephants forced to perform in the U.S., please send an e-mail to the USDA asking the agency to enforce the Animal Welfare Act in cases of violations by groups such as Ringling Bros.
Mr. Smith, where are you when we need you? PETA has learned that Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, not content with hiring an ex-CIA agent to spy on us, is now trying to use Congress to bully the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) out of doing its job.
According to sources on Capitol Hill, the staff of the House Committee on Agriculture, at the urging of a lobbyist for Ringling, summoned the USDA to justify an unannounced inspection (as inspections are supposed to be) that resulted in citations against Ringling for violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including failure to provide veterinary care to a young elephant who is suffering from chronic lameness. In response, PETA has sent a letter to the committee chair and ranking member asking for a meeting to discuss Ringling's long history of animal abuse.
When the USDA attempted to perform its inspection, Ringling employees refused to allow the inspectors to enter for more than an hour. Hmmm … makes you wonder what Ringling is trying to hide, doesn't it?
If you're shocked that Ringling has resorted to hiring spies and using Congress to sweep its abuse of animals under the rug, read this eye-opening Salon article for more on the circus's shady dealings.
Dear 2010,
It's over. We'll always treasure the victories that we achieved for animals in our year together, but it's time for us to move on and take a look at the trends that we can expect in 2011:
In
Donning KerinBieber feverModern FamilyChelsea Handler Black SwanThe Biggest Loser's Bob Harper Meat-Free Mondays Sandra BullockMcCartney"Ask Me Why I'm Vegan!" iPadSeeing the worldGlee tracksMeeting your meatRescued miners in ChileHummusSkating With the StarsEating plants
Out
Donna Karan Beaver killingThe Palin FamilyRingling's elephant handlers "Dancing" prawns Biggest loser Stephen HarperMystery-Meat Fridays Bullfighting McCruelty Don't ask, don't tellIditarodSeaWorldGlue trapsWearing your meatImprisoned animals in zoos HaggisSwimming with the dolphinsMel Gibson rants
We hope that we can still be friends, 2010. And we'll always have the Snuggie Macarena dance …
Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth
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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