Protesters Will Spotlight Ringling's Violent Treatment of Baby Elephants
For Immediate Release:
January 24, 2013
Contact:
Shakira Croce 202-483-7382
Nashville -- A herd of "elephants" will lead members of PETA and Nashville Animal Advocacy in a protest against the arrival of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus on Friday. Carrying signs reading, "Ringling Beats Animals," the protesters will display banners emblazoned with compelling photos taken inside Ringling's training center. The photos expose how baby elephants used by Ringling are stretched out, slammed to the ground, gouged with steel-tipped bullhooks, and shocked with electric prods. These abusive sessions go on for several hours a day in order to force the baby elephants to learn to perform circus tricks out of fear of punishment.
When: Friday, January 25, 9:30 a.m.
Where: Bridgestone Arena, at the southern corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, Nashville
"Nashville residents would run screaming from the big top if they knew how baby elephants are violently forced to perform difficult, confusing, and sometimes painful tricks," says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Delcianna Winders. "Since children love animals, the last place that parents and grandparents should take them to is the circus."
Late last year, Ringling paid the largest fine in circus history—$270,000—for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Actor Alec Baldwin recently narrated a video exposé that focuses on how circuses abuse elephants.
For more information, please visit PETA's websiteRinglingBeatsAnimals.com.