Whistleblower Reports Abuse During Lancelot Ramos' Illegal Tiger Act at Sarasota's Showfolks Circus
For Immediate Release:
December 13, 2012
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Sarasota, Fla. -- In the wake of a whistleblower's report that Lancelot Ramos (aka "Lancelot Kollman"), the notorious tiger exhibitor whose federal license was revoked in 2009, beat tigers onstage during a performance at the 45th Annual Showfolks Circus in Sarasota on December 8, PETA is offering a reward of $1,000 for video footage of Ramos beating or otherwise physically abusing tigers that leads to a conviction. Ramos has been cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the past for using abusive methods to train animals and even physically injuring two young lions so severely that one died. Ramos isalsocurrently under investigation by the USDA for exhibiting tigers without a USDA license in Texas in October 2012, as is the Hawthorn Corporation—following a PETA complaint—which sponsored his act.
"Based on what has been reported to PETA, Ramos' shameless disregard for animal welfare—and the law—has apparently gone beyond exhibiting tigers without a license all the way to beating animals on stage in full view of an audience," says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Delcianna Winders. "Animals can't stand up for themselves, so it's up to people to do the right thing and report the abuse of animals as soon as they witness it."
Ramos' other past violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act include denying animals adequate veterinary care, clean water, and adequate shelter; forcing them to live in filthy, unsanitary conditions; and starving an elephant so much that he was a full ton underweight when the USDA took the extraordinary enforcement action of confiscating him.
Anyone with information regarding the reported beatings at the Showfolks Circus is urged to contact PETA at 757-373-0968. For more information, please visit PETA.org.