After more than 128,000 PETA supporters contacted venues and sponsors of the Kelly Miller Circus about its contracts with abusive animal exhibitors, the circus just couldn’t fill seats, so the previous owner, John Ringling North II, was forced to sell it and retire. Then, after PETA urged the new owner, James Kendrick Judkins, to ditch Kelly Miller’s notoriously cruel animal acts, he launched his production of the circus—and it’s animal-free! According to Judkins, opening-day audiences praised the new show as “the best … that they have seen in years.” Kelly Miller joins the numerous modern, humane circuses—including Cirque Italia, Circus 1903, and Circus Vargas—that use only willing, human performers.
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“Almost all of us grew up eating meat, wearing leather, and going to circuses and zoos. We never considered the impact of these actions on the animals involved. For whatever reason, you are now asking the question: Why should animals have rights?” READ MORE
— Ingrid E. Newkirk, PETA President and co-author of Animalkind