Photo Op: Holiday Havoc! ‘Elephant’ Santa to Dump Coal on Shriners CEO’s Doorstep Over Circus Cruelty
For Immediate Release:
December 16, 2024
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Shriners International Imperial Potentate Richard Burke and his neighbors are in for a festive fracas on Wednesday when an “elephant” Santa and a pair of elves will roll up to his house with a wheelbarrow full of coal in an escalation of PETA’s campaign urging Shriners to get off the “naughty” list and make their circuses animal-free—just as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and other circuses have done. Bearing signs reading “Quit Elfin’ Around! Dump Animal Acts!” the holiday hecklers will make the point that wild animals forced to perform in circuses live under constant threat of punishment and are caged or chained almost constantly when not being forced to perform.
“Christmastime is never merry for the animals exploited in circuses, who are trained through pain and fear and forced to perform one demeaning trick after another,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Shriners International to end the big top bullying and get on Santa’s ‘nice’ list by banning all animal acts.”
When: Wednesday, December 18, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Buford, Ga.
Shrine circuses—which are among the last remaining shows that still use wild animals—routinely partner with notoriously cruel exhibitors, including Carson & Barnes Circus, which has been cited for more than 100 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act and whose head trainer was caught on video shocking elephants with electric prods and attacking them with bullhooks—weapons resembling a fireplace poker with a sharp hook on one end.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—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.
