Kelly Miller Circus Exhibitor Caught Using Electric Prod on Zebras and Camels

PETA Urges Families to Steer Clear of Circus With History of Working With Abusive Animal Exhibitors

For Immediate Release:
June 16, 2016

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cited an exhibitor with Hugo-based Kelly Miller Circus—which PETA has tracked for years—for using an electric prod on zebras and camels during a circus performance. As noted in the inspection report, which PETA just obtained, the use of an electric prod can cause “unnecessary discomfort and behavioral stress” to the animals—which is why using one constituted a violation of the federal Animal Welfare Act.

“Camels and zebras feel the pain from and fear an electric shock, just as all animals do, including human beings,” says PETA Foundation Associate Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Rachel Mathews. “The abuse of these sensitive animals under Kelly Miller’s is exactly why PETA urges compassionate families to choose animal-free circuses, which don’t shock anyone into performing tricks.”

This is far from the first time Kelly Miller Circus has worked with exhibitors who’ve been caught abusing animals. In 2013, PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—shared eyewitness reports that handlers at Kelly Miller performances had whipped zebras and camels, including one zebra who limped in pain after being whipped. When not being forced to perform, camels and zebras were also observed tethered so tightly that they could barely move.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.