Peter Dinklage asks fans to join him in making kind choices by not hurting animals or asking others to hurt animals for them. LEARN MORE.
"NY Ink" star and tattoo artist Ami James says that people should "never be silent" for animals in a new ad for PETA. LEARN MORE.
Animals and the planet depend on us, and actor Maggie Q wants us to know what we can do to help. LEARN MORE.
Animals are forced to endure the pain of having chemicals applied to their sensitive eyes and skin. Join Dave in buying only cruelty-free products. LEARN MORE.
Actor Taraji P. Henson wants us to show dogs the unconditional love that they so graciously give us. Make animals a part of your family. LEARN MORE.
TV Icon Joins PETA in Asking Mom Central to End Ringling Bros. Giveaways
For Immediate Release:March 31, 2010
Contact: Amanda Schinke 757-622-7382
Newton, Mass. -- 90210 star Jennie Garth has just sent a letter on PETA's behalf to parent-oriented Web site and marketing firm Mom Central urging the site to end its promotion of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. In December, PETA sent Mom Central CEO Stacy DeBroff photographs and undercover video footage of Ringling trainers as they beat and whipped elephants. But the site has decided to continue offering discounted circus tickets to other parenting blogs.
"In their natural habitat, mother and daughter elephants rarely leave each other's side," writes Garth. "I implore you to consider the helpless animals who are forced to surrender their children to a lifetime of isolation and pain."
PETA has revealed dozens of dozens of never-before-seen photos taken inside Ringling's Florida training center by a veteran elephant handler. The photos expose how still-nursing baby elephants are captured rodeo-style and dragged away from their mothers. The babies scream and struggle frantically as they are wrestled, stretched out, slammed to the ground, gouged with steel-tipped bullhooks, and shocked with electric prods. These abusive sessions go on for several hours a day for up to a year. For more information, please visit PETA.org. Jennie Garth's letter to Stacy DeBroff, CEO of Mom Central, follows.
Dear Ms. DeBroff:
As the mother of three daughters, I appreciate resources like Mom Central that help working moms deal with the everyday experiences of parenthood. Since so many mothers turn to your Web site for guidance, I urge you to reevaluate your current partnership with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Please consider the animal abuse and family separation that you are actually endorsing by recommending this cruel show to your readers.
Photos taken at Ringling's facility (available at RinglingBeatsAnimals.com) show frightened baby elephants who are forcibly stretched out, slammed to the ground, and wrestled by several adult men holding bullhooks--a heavy device with a sharp hook at one end that trainers use to beat elephants on the nerve-rich skin of the head, ears, trunk, and other sensitive areas. Any mother can recognize the pain and terror on these baby elephants' faces as they are roped around all four legs, tethered neck-to-neck to an anchor elephant, and dragged from their mothers--some while still nursing. After undergoing a year of daily violent training sessions, elephants continue to endure bullhook beatings and constant confinement as they travel from city to city--all for a few moments of entertainment.
In their natural habitat, mother and daughter elephants rarely leave each other's side. Because Mom Central is a resource that promotes support for all mothers, I implore you to consider the helpless animals who are forced to surrender their children to a lifetime of isolation and pain. Please do not continue to condone this cruelty. I urge you to end Mom Central's Ringling promotions.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,Jennie Garth