Video/Photos: Rose Parade Float Protest by PETA Over Elephant Mistreatment in Shrine Circus
For Immediate Release:
October 18, 2025
Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382
Earlier today, PETA supporters took part in the 92nd annual Texas Rose Festival Parade to alert people to elephants and other animals being exploited and abused in the Sharon Shrine Circus. The animal allies appeared at the Shriners’ float with an appeal for the circus to go animal-free, and signs proclaiming, “There’s Nothing Rosy About Abusive Animal Circuses!” After hearing from PETA, the Hadi, Moolah, and Yaarab shrines all dropped elephant acts. PETA urges its members and supporters to call on Shriners International to join Ringling Bros. and nearly every other circus by ending its animal acts.
Photos and video footage of the action are available here.
In nature, elephants enjoy playing with their families, foraging for fresh vegetation, and bathing in rivers—but those used in Shrine circuses are beaten, whipped, caged, chained, and forced to perform demeaning and stressful tricks under constant threat of violence. The Sharon Shrine Circus is among the last remaining shows that still use wild animals, and it routinely partners with notoriously cruel exhibitors, including Carson & Barnes Circus, which has been cited for more than 100 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.
“People have no idea that every ticket purchased for the Sharon Shrine Circus supports the abuse of displaced animals who face daily physical threats of violence,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Sharon Shriners to drop the animal acts from their circus and for everyone to stay away until they do.”
Contrary to a common misconception, the funds raised by Shrine circuses go to local Shrine clubs, and profits are generally used for operating expenses, such as maintaining the clubs’ premises and funding their activities. A former Shriners Children’s Patient Ambassador recently partnered with PETA to urge Shriners International to ban its member clubs from hosting cruel circuses that use animals.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
