PETA has just learned that local law-enforcement officials have cited both UniverSoul Circus and Larry Carden, the elephant exhibitor performing with the circus, for violating Atlanta’s cruelty-to-animals law—specifically, the provision that prohibits “abusive behavior towards an elephant.” The move comes after a whistleblower reported to PETA today that a handler with the circus forced an apparently fearful elephant to leave the stage by inserting a bullhook—a sharp metal weapon that resembles a fireplace poker—into the animal’s mouth.
What You Can Do
Because abuse with bullhooks is the norm when elephants are forced to perform, PETA urges everyone to stay far away from any circus that uses elephants.
