Circus's Violent Treatment of Baby Elephants Brings Out Protesters
For Immediate Release:
February 12, 2013
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Atlanta -- A herd of life-sized "baby elephants" will lead PETA protesters on Wednesday against Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The protesters will display signs that read, "This Is Ringling Baby-Elephant Training," alongside 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. An ordinance that would ban the use of bullhooks has been introduced by Atlanta City Council Member Felicia Moore and is pending before the council.
When: Wednesday, February 13, 12 noon
Where: Philips Arena, in front of the ticket booth on Centennial Olympic Park Drive, between Philips Drive and Wall Street, Atlanta
"Children would run screaming from the big top if they saw how baby elephants are tied down and forced to perform difficult, confusing, and even 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."
In late 2011, Ringling paid the largest fine in circus history—$270,000—for violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), and the circus is now being investigated based on a PETA complaint of even newer alleged AWA violations. Actor Alec Baldwin recently narrated a video exposé that focuses on how circuses abuse elephants.
For more information, please visit PETA's websiteRinglingBeatsAnimals.com.