Cloris Leachman Says ‘Don’t Let the Show Go On’

Award-winning actor and Miss Chicago 1946 Cloris Leachman has sent an appeal on behalf of PETA to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel asking that when Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to town today, city authorities keep in mind local ordinances that prohibit cruelly forcing animals into undue exertion and harboring sick or injured animals unless they are under the care of a veterinarian.

During Ringling’s last stop in Chicago, federal officials cited the circus for numerous violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including failure to provide a young, chronically lame elephant with adequate care. In the ensuing year, independent elephant experts have found that a number of elephants (including Sarah, who collapsed in August) traveling with Ringling are chronically lame and exhibit signs of life-threatening arthritis. Yet Ringling continues to haul these sick and aging elephants across the country.

Please join Cloris by calling Mayor Rahm Emanuel at 312-744-3300 and follow up by sending a polite e-mail to him, his chief of staff, and his press office asking that authorities ensure that Ringling comply with Chicago’s laws prohibiting cruelly forcing their elephants into undue exertion.

Written by Jennifer O’Connor