District Finds PETA's Ad 'Unsuitable' While Circus Inundates Schools With Free Tickets and Other Promotions Aimed at Kids
For Immediate Release:
May 25, 2011
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Phoenix — PETA's new school bus ads targeting Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus won't be teaching students in the Paradise Valley Unified School District any lessons about Ringling's cruel treatment of animals before the circus's June stop in Phoenix. That's because the school district—which is selling advertising space on the side of school buses in order to raise revenue—rejected PETA's ad on the grounds that it was "unsuitable." The ad shows a baby elephant stretched out by ropes tied around all four legs and reads, "The Circus Is No Fun for Animals." PETA targeted the district because Ringling inundates Phoenix schools with advertisements and free tickets.
"The Paradise Valley Unified School District is actively helping to sell students on cruelty," says executive vice president of PETA—and mother—Tracy Reiman. "If kids knew that elephants and tigers are routinely beaten and whipped into submission behind the scenes, they'd have to be dragged to the circus kicking and screaming."
Last year, PETA acquired shocking photos of baby elephants who underwent violent training sessions at Ringling's facility, documenting the circus's disregard for animal welfare. Baby elephants with Ringling are prematurely torn away from their mothers, stretched out, slammed to the ground, gouged with bullhooks (devices that resemble fireplace pokers), and shocked with electric prods—all just to teach them the physically grueling and confusing tricks seen in a circus routine. Some of the photos were published in a story in The Washington Post.
These troubling photos depict the beginning of what will be a lifetime filled with chains, bullhooks, filthy boxcars, and punishment. A PETA undercover investigation of Ringling resulted in video footage that shows Ringling workers, including an animal superintendent, as they repeatedly beat elephants moments before performances. Elephants were struck over and over again without warning in order to make sure that they knew to do as they were told or else suffer the consequences.
For more information, please visit PETA's website RinglingBeatsAnimals.com.