Wearing Nothing but Bodypaint, PETA Beauty Will Bare the Truth About Animal Abuse in Circus
For Immediate Release:
April 1, 2013
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Norfolk, Va. -- Confined to a cage with her naked body painted like a tiger and a banner above her reading, "Wild Animals Don't Belong Behind Bars," local resident Jennifer Wilson will protest the impending arrival of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum& Bailey Circus in Norfolk on Tuesday.
When: Tuesday, April 2, 12 noon
Where: At the intersection of Monticello Avenue and E. Freemason Street
When tigers aren't performing, they are warehoused like widgets, confined to small storage cages. Eyewitness testimony—including a new whistleblower report about the Ringling unit coming to Norfolk—and numerous inspection reports reveal that Ringling fails to let tigers out of their tiny cages except when the animals are forced to perform, an apparent flagrant violation of the requirement that tigers have daily exercise opportunities apart from performances.
PETA has also released dozens of compelling photos taken at Ringling's training center exposing how baby elephants are stretched out, slammed to the ground, gouged with steel-tipped bullhooks, and shocked with electric prods. These abusive sessions last several hours a day in order to force the baby elephants to learn to perform tricks out of the fear of punishment.
"I'm baring my skin to lay bare the abuse of animals in the circus," says Wilson. "The best way to show that you care about animals is to stay away from this circus and any other that cages tigers and chains elephants."
In late 2011, Ringling paid the largest fine in circus history—$270,000—for Animal Welfare Act violations. The circus is currently under investigation for additional violations.
For more information, please visit PETA's websiteRinglingBeatsAnimals.com.
