A LIFE IN CHAINS
Circus Cruelty at Shriner Fundraisers

The Shriners use circuses for fundraising, leasing troupes of animal acts and acrobats, who perform under the Shrine name. Because the Shriners don’t own the animals, they escape U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection. But Shrine-leased circuses have deplorable records of USDA violations, including failure to provide veterinary care, adequate shelter, nutritious food, and clean water, as well as failure to handle animals in a manner that prevents trauma and harm and ensures public safety.

Swap the Red Fez for a Safety Helmet
The Shriners are known for helping children—yet their circus fundraisers can threaten children’s safety by using dangerous animals. In 1997, a caged bear chomped part of a 2-year-old’s finger off at a Shrine Circus in Grand Rapids, Michigan—three years earlier, children suffered injuries during an elephant ride at a Shrine-sponsored circus in Muskegon, Michigan.

A Lethal Link
A Hawthorn Corporation elephant, Tyke, charged during a Shrine Circus performance in Altoona, Pennsylvania, causing $10,000 in damage and terrifying the audience of 3,000 children, one of whom was injured. Months later, Tyke was shot 87 times during an hour-long rampage in Honolulu. One person was killed and a dozen were injured.
Another Hawthorn-leased elephant killed her trainer by hurling him into a pillar during a Chicago Shrine Circus performance. And Misty, a Hawthorn-owned elephant used by the Shriners, once broke loose and killed a keeper by crushing his head. During that three-hour rampage, she smashed a pickup truck, and authorities shut down the interstate and evacuated a nearby swap meet.

Dangerous ... and Diseased!
In January 2000, an elephant named Kenya, who had been used in Shrine Circuses, crushed a circus worker to death. In 1998, Jupiter, a tiger used by the Shriners, killed his trainer—six weeks later, he did the same to his owner. A SWAT team gunned him down in his pen. Another tiger frightened children and parents at a mall as he ran free for 15 minutes during a Shrine Circus. In April 2000, an elephant named Tina used in Shrine Circuses tested positive for a human strain of tuberculosis.

Girl Witnesses Tiger Beating
An 11-year-old girl who witnessed abuse at a Shrine Circus wrote to her local newspaper, “The man appeared to get very upset and took the stick and slapped [the tiger] with it. ... That man grabbed the tiger’s tail and dragged him around in circles ... I would rather go see these ‘wild’ animals in the wild than see them get abused in the Shrine Circus.”
The list of attacks by animals used by Shrine circuses can be seen at Circuses.com.

Tyke, a Shrine Circus veteran, killed her trainer and ran loose in the streets before being gunned down by police.

Elephants in circuses perform under the constant threat of punishment.
The bullhook is used on sensitive areas—behind the ears and inner thighs.

• Please ask the Shriners to use only human performers. Contact the following:

Robert N. Turnipseed, Imperial Potentate, Mystic Shrine for North America, P.O. Box 31356, Tampa, FL 33631-3356

International Shrine Headquarters,
2900 Rocky Point Dr., Tampa, FL 33607-1460; 813-281-0300

Or use their “feedback form” at http://www.shrinershq.org/feedback.html.

Hats Off to Lions Clubs
Lions Clubs International, the world’s largest service club association, recently advised its chapters to beware of using “circuses and other events that may abuse animals used as part of the entertainment.”
Become a Show-Stopper!
If you find out that a civic group is planning a circus fundraiser:
• Meet with organizers and sponsors—show a PETA video detailing the animal abuse.

• Contact PETA for inspection reports, or check out factsheets on our Web site (Circuses.com). Cite violations to support your position.

• Advertise compassion—call us for anti-circus posters and bright yellow “CANCELED” stickers!

• Sponsor an ad in your local newspaper—contact our Media Department at extension 432 for details. In the U.K., call 020 8870 3966.
If organizers refuse to budge:

Ringling in Hot Water Over Hot
The USDA cited Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus after two tigers injured themselves while desperately trying to escape their intolerably hot cages. Faulty vent doors had blown shut and the temperatures had skyrocketed—one tiger had ripped at a door and had broken off his tooth. The other had suffered eye injuries.
• Videotape and/or photograph the unloading of the animals. Use our Circus Cruelty Checklist as a guide—look for abuse and violations of local anti-cruelty statutes. Report violations to your local animal control department or humane society/SPCA.
• Demonstrate on opening night and leaflet at every performance. Call PETA’s Campaign Department for help.

• Issue a news release about your demo to local media. Offer PETA’s video “Cheap Tricks”—call 757-622-PETA, extention 448, to order a copy.

• Write letters to local newspapers—tell readers how performing animals suffer, and urge them to boycott animal acts.

• Ask businesses to withdraw their support if they sell tickets or display posters.