PETA Says Community Service Payment by Cole Bros. Circus Owner Could End Up With a Circus Collaborator, Not a Legitimate Elephant Rehab Organization
For Immediate Release:
March 1, 2011
Contact:
David Perle 757-622-7382
DeLand, Fla. — Today, PETA sent an urgent letter to Judge Keith F. Giblin asking him to ensure that John Pugh, owner of Cole Bros. Circus—a company that has a long history of animal abuse and has just pleaded guilty to violating the Endangered Species Act—properly carry out his sentence for his role in an incident involving the illegal sale of an elephant. According to the Department of Justice, Pugh has been ordered by the court to donate money to an organization that is "working for the conservation or rehabilitation of Asian elephants." In the letter, PETA points out that some so-called "conservation" organizations that Giblin may be eyeing are, in fact, profit-making, captive elephant breeding programs run by the circus industry itself and that only a contribution to an approved elephant sanctuary would satisfy the requirements of Pugh's sentence.
"This violation of the Endangered Species Act is another example of how the Cole Bros. Circus fails to care for the animals it exploits in its shows," says PETA Director Delcianna Winders. "The last place that John Pugh's payment should go is to a company that breeds elephants for use in tawdry circuses like his."
One such pseudo-conservation organization is Carson & Barnes Circus' Endangered Ark Foundation (EAF). The head of the EAF has been shown in video footage violently abusing elephants. Ringling Bros. Circus cofounded a similar organization, the International Elephant Foundation, whose top donors include theme parks. Two genuine sanctuaries are the Elephant Sanctuary and the Performing Animal Welfare Society. Elephants at these sanctuaries have hundreds of acres to roam and are given proper veterinary care—not used to breed baby elephants who will be tied down and beaten in order to force them to perform tricks in a circus.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.