‘Elephants’ to Confront Shriners Over Circus Cruelty at Imperial Session in Atlanta
For Immediate Release:
June 26, 2025
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
On Sunday, Shriners International members attending the annual Imperial Session in Atlanta will come face-to-face with a herd of animal liberation advocates wearing elephant masks and bearing signs reading, “Free Me. 50+ Years of Misery.” The message references Betty, an elderly and disabled elephant who is still forced to perform in Shrine circuses, despite suffering from lameness, stiff joints, and apparent trunk paralysis, among other ailments. The spectacle is part of PETA’s ongoing campaign urging Shriners International to ban cruel animal acts from all Shrine circuses, as numerous individual Shrines have already done.
“Elephants belong in nature, surrounded by their loved ones, not on stage forced to perform tricks for humans under constant fear of violence,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Shriners International to let elephants live in peace by ending the use of animals in all of its member clubs’ circuses.”
Where: Outside Hyatt Regency, 265 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta
When: Sunday, June 29, 1 p.m.
Why: In nature, elephants enjoy playing with their families, foraging for fresh vegetation, and bathing in rivers. But those forced to perform in circuses spend most of their lives in shackles and under the constant threat of being abused with bullhooks—weapons resembling a fireplace poker with a sharp hook on one end. These elephants have high rates of painful and chronic health problems, such as nail cracks, abscesses, obesity, and arthritis.
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.
