Taos LULAC Pledges Not to Host Carson & Barnes Circus Again After PETA Appeal
Organization Nabs Elephant-Shaped Vegan Chocolates in Thanks for Compassionate Decision
For Immediate Release:
June 19, 2017
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
After learning from PETA that Carson & Barnes Circus has racked up more than 100 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA), the members of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) chapter in Taos—which hosted the circus at LULAC Field last month—pledged not to host it again unless it performs without animals. In thanks, PETA is sending the organization a box of delicious elephant-shaped vegan chocolates.
“Like so many other kind people, the members of Taos LULAC were horrified to learn that circuses beat, whip, and electrically shock animals in order to force them to perform tricks,” says PETA Foundation Associate Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Rachel Mathews. “PETA urges organizations across the country to follow Taos LULAC’s lead and agree to host only circuses that feature exclusively talented human performers, not abused animals.”
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—shared with Taos LULAC that Carson & Barnes, like all circuses that exploit elephants, uses bullhooks (weapons that resemble a fireplace poker with a sharp hook on one end) to beat and intimidate the animals into performing tricks. Carson & Barnes’ dozens of AWA violations include failing to provide animals with adequate veterinary care, minimum space, shelter from the elements, and clean water. It has also endangered the public: In 2016, it paid a $16,000 fine to settle a federal lawsuit after three elephants became frightened, escaped from a circus performance, and ran amok for nearly an hour.
As a result of growing public opposition to using exotic animals for entertainment, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has shut down and more than 600 companies and organizations across the U.S. have prohibited circuses and other exhibits that use wild animals.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
