PETA's 'Injured Elephant' to Confront Potential Circusgoers in Champaign

Protesters Will Draw Attention to Ringling's Violent Treatment of Baby Elephants

For Immediate Release:
October 18, 2012

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382 

Champaign, Il. -- An "injured elephant" will lead PETA protesters on Friday as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus prepares for its opening show in Champaign. The protesters will display signs that read, "This Is Ringling Baby-Elephant Training," alongside banners emblazoned with compelling photos taken inside Ringling's training center. The photos expose how baby elephants used by Ringling are 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 in order to force the baby elephants to learn to perform circus tricks out of fear of punishment. Actor Alec Baldwin recently narrated a video exposé that focuses on how circuses abuse elephants.

When:    Friday, October 19, 12 noon

Where:  Assembly Hall at the University of Illinois, at the intersection of First Street and Kirby Avenue, Champaign

"Champaign residents would run screaming from the big top if they knew how baby elephants are violently forced to perform difficult, confusing, and sometimes painful tricks," says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Delcianna Winders. "Since children love animals, the last place that parents and grandparents should take them to is the circus."

Late last year, Ringling Bros. paid the largest fine in circus history—$270,000—for violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently opened a formal investigation into Ringling for further violations of the AWA.

For more information, please visit PETA's website RinglingBeatsAnimals.com.