PETA Files Sworn Cruelty Complaint as Circus Continues Las Vegas Performances
For Immediate Release:
June 15, 2012
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Colorado Springs, Colo. -- Based on a whistleblower's report that an animal attendant with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus—the same unit of which is now performing in Las Vegas through Saturday—beat a chained elephant with a bullhook at the World Arena in Colorado Springs in the very early morning of June 10, PETA, together with the whistleblower, has filed a sworn cruelty complaint with the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region.
The whistleblower, who was working as a security guard at the arena, states that he saw a Ringling employee hit an elephant on her leg with full force at least six times in a manner that the whistleblower describes as "violent," "excessive," "angry," and "without warning." The attendant continued striking the elephant, who was chained by two legs, even after she had moved out of the way. The whistleblower also noted that the large cats traveling with Ringling were confined to their cages unless they were performing, that none of the animals had regular access to water, and that the circus does not travel with a veterinarian.
"This isn't the first time someone has reported Ringling's elephant abuse to PETA, and it surely won't be the last," says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Delcianna Winders. "Apparently, not even last year's $270,000 fine from the U.S. Department of Agriculture was enough to convince Ringling Bros. to stop beating and neglecting the animals it forces to perform in its shows."
The whistleblower is a trained veterinary assistant who had been in the process of filling out a job application to work in an animal-care capacity for Ringling. After witnessing Ringling's mistreatment of the animals, he immediately closed his Ringling employment application and contacted PETA to report his observations.
For more information, please visit RinglingBeatsAnimals.com.
