George Bernard Shaw

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Deaths of Ringling Brothers Animals spur protest in Everett

Parents, Kids Urged to Boycott Cruel Circus

For Immediate Release:
September 15, 2004

Contact:
Lisa Wathne 757-622-7382

Everett, Washington. — In the wake of the recent deaths of a lion and an 8-month-old elephant used by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, members of PETA will greet attendees of Ringling’s opening-night performance, waving signs emblazoned with the words, "19 Dead Elephants and Counting," and, "Lion Killers."

Date: Thursday, September 16
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Place: Everett Events Center, 2000 Hewitt Ave., Ste. 200

On August 5, Ringling destroyed an 8-month-old elephant named Riccardo after he suffered irreparable fractures to both hind legs when he fell off a circus pedestal. Riccardo was undersized when he was born to Ringling elephant Shirley, who was also still a baby—just 7 years old—at the time. Last month, a young, healthy, Ringling lion named Clyde died in a transport cage aboard a train crossing the Mojave Desert in 109°F heat. According to veteran Ringling employee and lion handler Frank Hagan, Ringling’s train master refused repeated requests to stop the train to water the lions during the scorching trip from Phoenix, Ariz., to Fresno, Calif.

In order to force wild animals to perform stressful and often painful acts, trainers use metal bullhooks, whips, muzzles, and electric prods. PETA has obtained shocking undercover video footage—some of which it has used to develop a public service announcement—of elephants being beaten with bullhooks by a circus trainer. The violent training methods shown in the video are commonly used in circuses, including Ringling, which is a chronic violator of the federal Animal Welfare Act and has an abysmal history of deaths of animals in its care.

PETA has U.S. government documents showing that Ringling paid $20,000 to settle charges of failing to provide veterinary care to a dying baby elephant. In less than two years, two baby elephants died, a caged tiger was shot to death, a horse who was used in the circus despite a chronic medical condition died, and a wild-caught sea lion was found dead in her transport container.

"This cruelty, these beatings are what the circus is desperate to hide from the public," says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. "These animals are not volunteers. They have been deprived of their precious freedom and beaten for a lifetime of cheap tricks."

Broadcast-quality footage of animals abused in circuses and U.S. Department of Agriculture documents detailing Ringling animal deaths are available. For more information, please visit PETA’s Web site Circuses.com.