Wearing Nothing but Tiger Stripes, PETA Beauty Bares the Truth About Circus's Abuse of Animals
For Immediate Release:
June 17, 2011
Contact:
Shakira Croce 202-483-7382
Tucson, Ariz. -- Confined to a cage with her nude body painted like a tiger and a banner above her reading, "Wild Animals Don't Belong Behind Bars," PETA member Leila Sleiman will protest the impending arrival of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Tucson on Friday.
When: Friday, June 17, 11 a.m.
Where: Intersection of N. Stone Avenue and E. Pennington Street, Tucson
When tigers aren't performing, they are warehoused in cramped cages. Elephants who are used in the circus also suffer. PETA has revealed dozens of compelling photos taken inside Ringling's Florida training center by a veteran elephant handler. The photos expose how still-nursing baby elephants are captured rodeo-style and dragged away from their mothers. The babies scream and struggle frantically as they are wrestled, 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 for up to a year.
"I'll gladly bare my skin if it will help expose Ringling's abusive treatment of animals," says Sleiman. "The best way to stop this abuse is for people to boycott Ringling and other circuses that use animals."
For more information, please visit PETA's website RinglingBeatsAnimals.com.