Woman Sheds Clothes, Bares 'Scars' to Protest Circus Cruelty

PETA Beauty Exposes All, Including Truth About Ringling's Abuse of Animals

For Immediate Release:
May 20, 2010

Contact:
Amanda Fortino  757-622-7382

Las Vegas -- Wearing nothing but shackles and covered in "scars" from violent "beatings"--which are an everyday reality for animals in circuses--PETA member Christina Cho will protest on Friday in Las Vegas against the arrival of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Where:  Northeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard S. and W. Bellagio Drive, Las Vegas
When:   Friday, May 21, 12 noon
   

"I'm here to expose what the circus is so desperate to hide from the public--the fact that these animals have been beaten and deprived of their precious freedom, all for a lifetime of cheap tricks," says Cho.

PETA has released 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's Web site RinglingBeatsAnimals.com.