George Bernard Shaw

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PETA Wants Agri-Park, Lions Club to Make Circus’s Visit Its Last

For Immediate Release:
October 10, 2005

Contact:
Lisa Wathne 757-622-7382

Pulaski, Tenn.--- Today, PETA fired off letters to Agri-Park Committee Chair Romana Slacy and Pulaski Noon Lions Club President Greg Wilson, alerting them that the Carson & Barnes Circus—which will be at the Giles Agri-Park this Friday—has had to pay nearly $1,000 to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for two separate alleged violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA). PETA is urging them not to host or sponsor Carson & Barnes in the future.

PETA has obtained shocking videotape footage of Carson & Barnes’ trainers attacking elephants with steel-tipped bullhooks and shocking them with electric prods as the animals scream and recoil in pain. The video shows the head trainer instructing other handlers to make sure that such beatings are always severe and never carried out in public view. The undercover videotape reveals standard elephant-training practices used by the circus industry. Abusers are rarely caught because most of the cruelty takes place behind the scenes. A U.S. District Court judge who viewed the tape described it as "troubling" and noted that it depicts conduct that violates the AWA. Carson & Barnes agreed to pay $400 to avoid further action by the USDA.

Carson & Barnes also paid a $550 fine following a June 2003 incident in which two elephants were injured when their circus trailer overturned—the second such incident in less than a year. The circus has been cited by the USDA at least eight times since 1995 for failing to maintain its animal-transport trailers. In April 2004, Jennie, a 5-year-old endangered Asian elephant, died at the company’s facility in Hugo, Okla., after contracting a herpes virus. PETA points out that the stress of being separated from her mother, sent on the road at just 16 months of age, and subjected to intense training sessions, demanding performances, and constant travel is likely to have compromised Jennie’s immune system and left her vulnerable to infection.

"In circuses such as Carson & Barnes, bullhooks, electric-shock prods, whips, and chains are the rule," says PETA Director Debbie Leahy. "The suffering and deaths of animals are no more than the cost of doing business to them."

Videotape footage of elephant beatings can be seen on PETA’s Web site Circuses.com. PETA’s letter to Agri-Park Committee Chair Romana Slacy follows. PETA’s similar letter to Pulaski Noon Lions Club President Greg Wilson is available upon request.

October 10, 2005

Romana Slacy, Chair
Agri-Park Committee
1815 Lofton Hall Rd.
Ardmore, TN 38449

Dear Ms. Slacy:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is a nonprofit organization with more than 850,000 members and supporters dedicated to animal protection. We are writing to alert you to disturbing information concerning the Carson & Barnes Circus, which is scheduled to perform at the Giles Agri-Park on October 14. We ask that you consider the important information in this letter and make the compassionate decision not to host Carson & Barnes—or any other circus with animal acts—in the future.

Carson & Barnes Circus has agreed to pay nearly $1,000 to avoid further action by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in two separate alleged violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA). A PETA investigator touring with the Carson & Barnes Circus recorded the enclosed video. Tim Frisco, the circus’s animal-care director, is shown viciously attacking and shocking terrified elephants. Frisco instructs other trainers to hurt the elephants until they scream and to sink a sharp, metal bullhook into their flesh and twist it. Frisco also cautions that the beatings must be concealed from the public. A U.S. District Court judge who viewed the tape described it as "troubling" and noted that it depicts conduct that violates the AWA. Carson & Barnes agreed to pay $400 for mishandling elephants in order to avoid further action by the USDA in this matter.

Carson & Barnes also paid a $550 fine following a June 2003 incident in which two elephants were injured when the circus trailer overturned—the second such incident in less than a year. The circus has been cited by the USDA at least eight times since 1995 for failing to maintain its animal-transport trailers. Carson & Barnes has also been cited for failure to provide veterinary care, adequate space and ventilation, shelter from the elements, and clean drinking water.

In April 2004, Carson & Barnes’ 5-year-old elephant named Jennie died after contracting a herpes virus carried by African elephants. Jennie’s death might have been prevented if Carson & Barnes had followed even the most basic guidelines for elephant care. The circus subjected Jennie to the rigors of forceful training, performance, and travel at just 16 months of age, stressing her delicate immune system.

Beatings and extreme confinement are a part of everyday life for animals in circuses. We hope you agree that this abuse is unacceptable and must be stopped. I would be happy to answer any questions or supply additional information. You can contact me at 757-622-7382. I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Nicole Meyer, Elephant Specialist
Captive Exotic Animals Department

Enclosures: Carson & Barnes Circus factsheet and elephant-training video