Jerusalem Shrine Nabs PETA Praise for Ending Animal Circuses

Shriners Will Thrill Audiences Without Harming Elephants, Tigers, and Other Involuntary Animal Performers

For Immediate Release:
August 7, 2018

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Delicious vegan brownies are on the way from PETA to the Jerusalem Shrine, which just announced its decision to host only Las Vegas–style shows and other animal-free fundraisers, such as this weekend’s MJ Live show, instead of animal circuses. The Shriners unveiled their official new animal-free policy to the group following a PETA protest—complete with a “tiger,” an “elephant,” and a “bear”—at a recent Shriners International conference.

“The Jerusalem Shrine sees that the future of entertainment is in thrilling music and dance shows and that chained and beaten animals are simply sad sights,” says PETA Deputy Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Rachel Mathews. “PETA is calling on Shriners across the country to follow the New Orleans branch’s lead on progressive and humane fundraising.”

A PETA video shows animal handlers at recent Shrine circus performances whipping a tiger’s face, jabbing an elephant with a bullhook, and causing a bear to urinate from distress as she’s forced to walk on her forelegs. And a recent 68-page report from celebrated animal-behavior expert Jay Pratte documents the environmental and physiological neglect, psychological abuse, and coercion of animals through dominance and fear that he observed at Shrine circuses in 2017 and earlier this year.

PETA’s motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment.” For more information, please visit PETA.org.