Wounded 'Elephant' to Fayetteville Schoolchildren: Circuses Hurt Animals

PETA Pachyderm Ellie to Hand Out Activity Books Following Exposé of Ringling's Violent Treatment of Baby Elephants

For Immediate Release:
February 5, 2010

Contact:
David Perle 757-622-7382

Fayetteville, NC -- An "elephant" with a bloody bandage wrapped around a wound on her head will greet students as they leave Margaret Willis Elementary School of Technology on Friday. The elephant will hand out activity booklets and explain to kids and their parents that animals used by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus--which is scheduled to visit Fayetteville soon--are jabbed with spiked, metal bullhooks and beaten to make them perform difficult tricks that are confusing and sometimes painful to them.

When:   Friday, February 5, 1:45 p.m.

Where:  Margaret Willis Elementary School of Technology, 1412 Belvedere Ave. (near the intersection of Belvedere Avenue and Westmont Drive), Fayetteville

"If children knew how animals suffer behind the scenes, their smiles would quickly turn to frowns," says PETA Director Debbie Leahy.

PETA has revealed 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.