No Exotic Animals in Entertainment

The image of the circus as a vestige of an honorable American entertainment tradition is falling to shreds. Through the work of dedicated activists, as well as individuals who have worked in the circus industry, the inherent cruelty of animal-based circuses is not only being criticized, but is increasingly no longer being tolerated. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus touts itself as "The Greatest Show on Earth," but its show, and others of its ilk, have been under growing attack by animal advocates, local legislators, and even members of Congress. Legislative initiatives and grassroots activities challenging the use of exotic animals in circuses are proliferating. Animals in circuses suffer horribly under deplorable conditions. They are forced to live in dirty, crowded quarters; are not provided with consistent veterinary care (many circuses don't travel with veterinarians); and are trained and kept under control through the use of such devices as bullhooks (sticks with sharpened hooks at one end), clubs, whips, chains, electric "hotshot" prods, food and water deprivation, and other forms of what is unemotionally labeled "negative reinforcement." Elephants are kept in chains up to 95 percent of the time, and exotic cats and other animals are housed in small cages where they are barely given room to stand up, move around, or stretch. Baby elephants are torn from their mothers at unnaturally young ages to be trained. One (literally) shocking training method entails hosing down elephants prior to applying a hotshot, thereby making their sensitive skin even more vulnerable to pain. Performing animals are hauled from town to town, day in and day out, in boxcars or trucks, without any ability to exercise the full range of their natural behaviors or to otherwise be left alone for any substantial period of time without being poked, prodded, and trotted out before the masses. Once they outlive their commercial usefulness, they are frequently sold to captive hunting ranches, sent to roadside zoos, auctioned off to private animal collectors, or otherwise meet dismal fates. A lucky few animals find homes at sanctuaries such as those operated by the Fund for Animals, the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), and The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald (Tennessee). Activists all over the world have taken steps to expose and prevent the abuses that occur regularly in circuses. Many U.S. animal protection groups have extensive anti-circus campaigns, and more and more state and local governments have passed or considered banning circuses with exotic animals. To counter these measures, Ringling Bros. and other circuses have launched well-financed public-relations counterstrikes. Feld Entertainment, Ringling's parent company, was estimated by Fortune magazine in 1999 to have generated more than $500 million that year from its various business ventures. A 1995 New York Times article estimated Ringling's advertising budget at $25 million, a figure that has likely grown in the face of court challenges and legislative hearings aimed at restricting circus activity. A Record of Mistreatment Ringling Bros., with its formidable pocketbook and impetus to protect its profit margin and reputation, has formed a defense based on offense. For example, it has resorted to passing out glossy pamphlets to circus patrons, claiming that its relationship with its animals is "based on constant contact, daily routines and nurturing, which foster trust and affection. Training involves a system of repetition and reward that build on respect and reinforces the trust between animal and trainer." However, documentation provided by government inspection reports and by individuals who have worked at Ringling Bros. reveals a far grimmer picture. For example, Ringling touts its purported success at its Center for Elephant Conservation (CEC), where it has bred ten Asian elephants. Of those offspring, however, two babies are dead: Kenny, whose death resulted in the imposition of Animal Welfare Act charges that Ringling settled in 1998 for $20,000; and Benjamin, who drowned in 1999 under suspicious circumstances and who reportedly was beaten by his handlers. Of the remaining eight, two were found during a 1999 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection to have "large visible lesions on [their] rear legs." According to two trainers interviewed during the routine inspection, the young elephants—Doc and Angelica—suffered rope burns while being forcibly separated from their mothers. One inspection memo noted that Bill Lindsay, Ringling's chief veterinarian, attempted to downplay the seriousness of the lesions found on the babies: "Dr. Lindsay was very upset and asked repeatedly why we could not be more collegial and call him before we came. I explained to him that all our inspections are unannounced. We also asked at that time to take pictures of Doc and Angelica. All Ringling personnel were very reluctant to let us take pictures..." The inspectors returned to the CEC the next day to take photographs, and it was noted that the babies "appeared 'cleaned up.'" The inspectors also noticed that there were additional scars on the babies' front legs. The memo notes that Lindsay "was upset that we had even written a note about the scars and stated that we were 'silly' for making such a big issue over a little thing." Ringling Bros. called the separation method "standard industry practice," but the USDA consulted with six elephant experts about the inspection and thereafter communicated to Feld Entertainment that "we consider the handling of these two elephants as reported on our inspection report of February 9-10 to be noncompliant with the Animal Welfare Act regulations....we believe there is sufficient evidence that the handling of these animals caused unnecessary trauma, behavioral stress, physical harm and discomfort to these two elephants..." In addition to information from government inspections, more has been learned from three former Ringling employees who have come forward with stories about the company's animal-handling practices. A complaint filed on behalf of PAWS with the USDA in April identifies Tom Rider, a former Ringling elephant handler, as an eyewitness to abuse. The complaint charges that "Mr. Rider has identified several handlers and trainers by name who he personally witnessed repeatedly beat the elephants in the Blue Unit, including the babies. Mr. Rider also traveled with the elephants on tour, and said that they live on cramped stock cars, are chained for more than 23 hours per day, and exposed to extreme temperatures, and left to stand in their own waste for hours at a time." In January 1999, another former Ringling employee, Glenn Ewell, executed an affidavit in which horrendous treatment of elephants was documented. One incident was described as follows: "[A]fter one of the performances in Denver, one of the adult females by the name of Nicole was severely beaten by Randy and Adam because she performed poorly. The elephants were taken back to the holding area and after the other elephants were chained in place, Randy took Nicole and tried to get her to do the routine she refused to do during the performance. When Nicole refused to do the movements as instructed Randy took a bull hook and began beating Nicole in the head, on the trunk and behind the front feet. The beating continued until the handle of the bull hook shattered. While Randy was beating Nicole in the head and trunk area, Adam began beating her on the lumbar and hindquarter area on the right hand side. One of the strikes by Adam to the lumbar area resulted in the metal hook penetrating the skin and causing an open wound from which blood began flowing. After the beating was over a person by the name of Sonny doctored the wound with some type of powder to stop the bleeding. No other veterinary care was provided to my knowledge. All of the animal crew previously identified were present and witnessed the beating." PAWS—joined by the Fund, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Animal Welfare Institute, and two former Ringling employees—has now filed a civil suit against Ringling Bros. for allegedly violating both the Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act in its treatment of Asian elephants. Since 1992, 11 Ringling Bros. elephants have died in all, and other animals in the circus haven't fared much better. In February 1999, a 15-year-old horse who performed for Ringling collapsed and died shortly after being unloaded from his train car. In January 1998, a tiger confined to his cage was shot to death by a Ringling employee, apparently as payback shortly after the tiger mauled the employee's brother, the cat's trainer. The USDA issued a "serious warning" to Ringling about the incident. Other circuses have similarly dismal track records. In 1999, the Clyde Beatty-Cole Brothers Circus was charged with, and later settled, a complaint filed by the USDA under the auspices of the Animal Welfare Act for the "abusive use of an ankus" [bullhook] on several of its elephants. In February 2000, Clyde Beatty again was cited by the USDA for bullhook scars on two of its elephants. Indeed, the circus had been cited in January 1999 for even failing to provide the USDA with access to records pertaining to the health of its elephants. The Sterling & Reid Circus was cited in April 1999 for poking and prodding exotic cats with poles and for striking a lion across the face, as well as for leaving camels tethered in direct sunlight for a lengthy period without any shelter. The same circus, while under investigation by the USDA, turned over three of its tigers to the Oakland Zoo in 1999. Sterling & Reid also featured in its acts a trainer named Brian Franzen, who was convicted of animal cruelty charges after eight ponies in his care were seized from Sterling & Reid after being found dehydrated, malnourished, and living in substandard conditions. In 1997 in Britain, Mary Chipperfield—once considered a grand dame of the circus industry—was convicted of beating a chimpanzee with a riding crop. This is just a sampling of the recently documented abuses occurring behind the scenes. (copied directly off of www.animalagenda.com)We must stop this cruelty.