Group Urges Citizens to Call On City Council to Deny Abusive Circus a Permit to Perform at Bellevue University
For Immediate Release:
April 9, 2012
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Bellevue, Neb. -- PETA has posted an action alert on its popular website asking visitors to contact the Bellevue City Council in advance of Monday night's meeting to urge the council members to vote against Carson & Barnes Circus' application for a permit to take its show to Bellevue University. As PETA's website explains, Carson & Barnes has been cited for multiple violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) just within the last year, including for using excessive force on an elephant and for failing to protect members of the public—including small children—from abused elephants who were forced to give rides. The group is also encouraging local PETA members to attend the City Council meeting to speak out against this circus.
"Animal abuse and public endangerment go hand in hand, as elephants who are beaten can become ticking time bombs," says PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. "PETA is urging Bellevue residents to speak up now to prevent Carson & Barnes from dragging its cruel, dangerous show into town."
Carson & Barnes has a long history of animal abuse, including paying a fine to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) after its animal-care director, Tim Frisco, was caught on camera viciously attacking terrified elephants with bullhooks and shocking them with electric prods. Last summer, the USDA cited the circus for using excessive force with a bullhook on an elephant named Viola, who was forced to give people rides despite her history of bolting from handlers. The USDA also cited the circus for multiple instances in which elephants forced to give rides were not under the direct supervision of handlers, including one time when a handler answered his cell phone and walked away from an elephant while she had six children and an adult on her back.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.