Victory! Top Sponsors Pull Sponsorships of the Hadi Shrine Circus

Victory! After hearing from PETA, global brands PPG Industries, a paint manufacturer, and DSM, a health and nutrition company, cut ties with the Hadi Shrine Circus! Both had been top sponsors of the circus. Sherwin-Williams, another top sponsor, also advised its local business groups to refrain from these types of sponsorships going forward.

For more than a century, several Shrine circuses have made a spectacle out of exploiting sensitive and intelligent animals, including elephants, tigers, and bears who were taken from their mothers as babies to be subjected to a lifetime of suffering. PETA has called out the Shriners for working with animal abusers who jab elephants with sharp bullhooks, whip tigers, and more.

In 2022, the Hadi Shrine Circus exploited elephants, camels, dogs, and ponies in various acts. During the intermission, handlers forced elephants, ponies, and camels to give rides to customers, while a snake and a pony, who was forced to wear a unicorn costume, were used in stressful photo ops. The elephant handlers used canes instead of bullhooks—likely to bypass an ordinance that prohibits the use of manual devices to cause physical injury.

Every company that pulls its financial support of these cruel spectacles helps move Shrine circuses closer to ending the use of animals. To congratulate PPG and DSM for ending their sponsorships of the Hadi Shrine Circus, PETA is sending the companies delicious vegan chocolates. We’re also calling on Shrine clubs like the Hadi Shrine to end their barbaric exploitation of animals in circuses, as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is doing, and urging Shriners International to ban the use of animals at member club events.

Here’s What You Can Do

Stay far away from circuses that use live animals, and instead support animal-free circuses. You can also help by urging Shriners International to ban the use of animals at all member club events: