IDA Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey’

Most of the smaller circuses are now in their brief winter break, a good time for an update on some of the elephants we’ve been watching closely this circus season, with your invaluable assistance.

George Hanneford, Jr. (Hanneford Family Circus) was cited by USDA/APHIS early in 2011 for failure to provide veterinary care to his elephant, Liz, who was noted to be extremely underweight (her last weight was noted at 4760 pounds) and to have deformities to one front and one hind leg, which were affecting her gait. Liz stopped performing, but she continued to travel around the country with Hanneford and two other elephants, Carol and Patty, to a variety of Shrine venues. A follow-up by APHIS determined that Hanneford had consulted with a veterinary specialist, as ordered, and that he was complying with the recommendations of the specialist. Presumably, those recommendations included preventing Liz from performing. IDA pressed our position with APHIS that allowing her to travel, even without performing, would cause further mental and physical deterioration in an already sick elephant.

As of this writing, Carol and Patty are performing with a Ringling Bros Circus unit, and we believe that Liz is “at home” in Florida with George Hanneford, Jr. We have asked that APHIS urgently investigate her situation and ensure that she is getting appropriate care and handling to improve her health, and, if not – as we believe to be the case – to confiscate her immediately.

George Carden (George Carden Circus International) apparently manages to fool even the USDA by hauling elephants around in a variety of group sizes and configurations and under an array of mantles including many Shrine organizations and the Jordan World Circus. Three of the elephants listed and at times inspected under George Carden’s license appear to also be licensed by his son, Brett (B and C Ranch). It is extremely difficult to keep track of Carden and “his” elephants for monitoring purposes. We do know that at least three of the elephants – Betty, Bimbo and Tory – have severe problems with their front legs. IDA complained numerous times to APHIS about these elephants, obviously in pain, being forced to give rides and perform. We also pointed to serious stereotypic behavior as an indicator of poor health in other elephants. APHIS then cited Carden for failure to provide veterinary care and ordered a thorough examination by an experienced veterinarian in order to assess their fitness to travel and perform. Unfortunately, Carden was able to obtain statements from a veterinarian with close ties to the circus industry, claiming that all three elephants could continue performing. We continue to monitor Carden’s elephants wherever possible, with an eye toward demonstrating to APHIS that their welfare is severely compromised and that steps must be taken to protect them.

WE NEED YOUR HELP: Getting agencies such as the USDA to act to protect elephants in circuses can be an excruciating process, but it can be very effective. Frequent monitoring of the elephants’ condition is required. We can’t go to circuses all over the country, but the help of wonderful activists has allowed us to check on elephants in New York, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Illinois and Florida, to name only a few. With more people willing to go to circuses to videotape the elephants, we can accomplish even more. Please email circuses@idausa.org if a circus is headed your way and you can help.

For more information about IDA’s work on elephants in circuses, go to www.helpelephants.com.

To support our work please click here.

The past week has seen some steps forward for elephants in circuses. These are only small steps but they represent progress for elephants and, for Dumbo, a life that has improved in significant ways.

Dumbo a circus performer no more

Dumbo

For nineteen months, we searched for Dumbo – the African elephant who killed her handler at a Pennsylvania Shrine Circus in April of 2010 and then disappeared from view. The USDA confirmed an open investigation into that incident, following a complaint from IDA. With your help, we were persistent in demanding the USDA’s urgent attention to Dumbo’s welfare, filing complaints and mobilizing people to write to the USDA on her behalf, while making efforts to locate and monitor her.

We can now report that Dumbo has been moved to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado; she is finally out of the hands of her circus “owners’” – the notorious Frisco family.

This is not the perfect solution. Of course, we would have much preferred that Dumbo spend the rest of her life at a natural habitat sanctuary in a more suitable climate. But we are pleased that she will no longer be forced to give rides or perform circus tricks at the point of a bullhook; the zoo manages its elephants using protected contact. She will no longer have to endure the intense confinement of travel.  And she now lives with three African elephants, ending years of solitude.

For Dumbo, who is known as Jambo in her new home, life is better.

Ringling hit with the biggest fine ever by USDA

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has hit the owner of Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus with a $270,000 fine to settle charges that the circus violated federal animal welfare law. The charges involved numerous violations over the past three years, including

• forcing a sick elephant to perform
• endangering animals and the public by failing to safely handle an elephant who broke away from her handlers during a pre-show
• carrying food for the tigers in the same containers used to remove waste from the cages

In all there were more than 24 violations cited, and the fine is the maximum allowed by federal law ($10,000 per violation). The circus has agreed to train staff to comply with welfare requirements, as well. While Ringling officially admits to no wrongdoing, and the fine is nothing more than the cost of doing business for wealthy circus owner Feld Entertainment, Inc., the media is generally getting the message that there were significant animal welfare violations that prompted this settlement, which means that the public is hearing about Ringling’s abuse.

IDA joined with other animal groups to organize the largest circus protest ever against Ringling in Los Angeles in July. We will continue to monitor Ringling and other circuses, to file complaints with the USDA, and to educate the public about the suffering of animals used in the circus.

For more information about IDA’s work on elephants in circuses, go to www.helpelephants.com.

Please replace your profile pictures with the Virtual Demo "Sign"

Saturday, June 11, is the International Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos, when activists around the world will be sending a message that elephants just don’t belong in cramped, unnatural displays that shorten their lives by decades.

This year, everyone can help the elephants, no matter where you live, by participating in a virtual demonstration on Facebook and Twitter. It’s easy to do and a great way to spread the word that it’s time to stop the elephants’ suffering.

Here’s how it works:

Facebook Instructions – Speak up for Elephants in 3 easy steps!

1. Make sure you have your protest “sign“. All you have to do is right click on the “Elephants Suffer” image and choose “Save” to get this “sign”. Replace your profile photo to your “sign” and keep it up all weekend!

2. Go through the zoo list and “Like” the promotional pages for these zoos. This will allow you to post comments on their pages:

United States

• Albuquerque Biological Park, Albuquerque, NM
• Audubon Zoo, Audubon, LA
• Birmingham Zoo, Birmingham, AL
• BREC’s Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge, LA
• Bronx Zoo, Bronx, NY
• Buffalo Zoological Gardens, Buffalo, NY
• Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay, FL
• Buttonwood Park Zoo, New Bedford, MA
• Caldwell Zoo, Tyler, TX
• Cameron Park Zoo, Waco, TX
• Chaffee Zoological Gardens, Fresno, CA
• Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs, CO
• Cincinnati Zoo, Cincinnati, OH
• Cleveland Metro Park Zoo, Cleveland, OH
• Columbus Zoo, Columbus, OH
• Dallas Zoo, Dallas, TX
• Denver Zoo, Denver, CO
• Dickerson Park Zoo, Springfield, MO
• Disney Animal Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, FL
• El Paso Zoo, El Paso, TX
• Fort Worth Zoo, Ft. Worth, TX
• Greenville Zoo, Greenville, SC
• Hogle Zoo, Salt Lake City, UT
• Honolulu Zoo, Honolulu, HI
• Houston Zoological Gardens, Houston, TX
• Indianapolis Zoo, Indianapolis, IN
• Jacksonville Zoological Gardens, Jacksonville, FL
• Kansas City Zoo, Kansas City, MO
• Knoxville Zoo, Knoxville, TN
• Lee Richardson Zoo, Garden City, KS
• Little Rock Zoo, Little Rock, AK
• Los Angeles Zoo, Los Angeles, CA
• Louisville Zoological Gardens, Louisville, KY
• Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa, FL
• Maryland Zoo, Baltimore, MD
• Memphis Zoo, Memphis, TN
• Miami Metro Zoo, Miami, FL
• Milwaukee Zoological Garden, Milwaukee, WI
• Montgomery Zoo, Montgomery, AL
• Nashville Zoo, Nashville, TN
• Niabi Zoo, Coal Valley, IL
• North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro, NC
• Oakland Zoo, Oakland, CA
• Oklahoma City Zoo, Oklahoma City, OK
• Oregon Zoo, Portland, OR
• Phoenix Zoo, Phoenix, AZ
• Pittsburgh Zoo, Pittsburgh, PA
• Point Defiance Zoo, Tacoma, WA
• Reid Park Zoo, Tuscon, AZ
• Riverbanks Zoo, Columbia, SC
• Roger Williams Park Zoo, Providence RI
• Rosamond Gifford Zoo, Syracuse, NY
• St. Louis Zoological Park, St. Louis, MO
• San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, TX
• San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Escondido, CA
• San Diego Zoo, San Diego, CA
• Santa Barbara Zoo, Santa Barbara, CA
• Sedgwick County Zoo, Wichita, KS
• Seneca Park Zoo, Rochester, NY
• Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo, CA
• Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington, DC
• Toledo Zoo, Toledo, OH
• Topeka Zoological Park, Topeka, KS
• Tulsa Zoo and Living Museum, Tulsa, OK
• Virginia Zoo, Norfolk, VA
• Wildlife Safari, Winston, OR
• Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, WA
• Zoo Atlanta, Atlanta, GA

Canada

• Bowmanville Zoo (Ontario)
• Calgary Zoo (Alberta)
• Granby Zoo (Quebec)
• Toronto Zoo (Ontario)

3. Starting on Saturday June 11th, start posting your comments! Remember that your comments will be seen by followers of all ages and comments that include profanity or can be interpreted as “abusive” will probably be removed before the general public gets a chance to read them and may result in your profile being reported and/or deleted by Facebook. IDA is not responsible for any comments you may leave or action that results.

Twitter Instructions:

1. Make sure you have your protest “sign“. All you have to do is right click on the “Elephants Suffer” image and choose “Save” to get this “sign”. Replace your profile photo to your “sign” and keep it up all weekend!

2. Go through the zoo list above and “Follow” these pages. This will allow you to send them direct messages and Tweets using the @. here’s an example of how this works – you Tweet : @ZooAtl Elephants need more space than urban zoos can provide. It’s cruel to keep elephants in zoos!

And that Tweet goes directly to the Zoo Atlanta Twitter page.

3. Encourage your friends to join your Twitter Demo! Tweet to them to also change their profile image to their “sign”. Here is an example of a Tweet you can use to encourage them to Tweet the zoos you are Tweeting: FF! Follow these zoos ( Then list a bunch of Twitter pages for zoos with elephants and put a @ before their address. Example : @ZooAtl ) & Tweet about what you think of zoos!

4. Starting on Saturday June 19th, start sending direct messages and Tweeting to the zoos you are following using the Reply function. Here is are some examples of a great Twitter Demo Tweet: @ZooAtl is no fun for the Elephants who live there. OR Elephants belong in the wild not @ZooAtl

5, You can run your Twitter Demo all day – Rain or Shine! But remember messages and Tweets that include profanity or can be interpreted as “abusive” may result in your profile being reported and/or deleted by Twitter. IDA is not reasonable for any messages or Tweets sent or action that results.

Here are some quick messages you can send (but feel free to create your own):

Elephants are suffering and dying prematurely in zoos.

Elephants should not suffer for our entertainment!

Elephant captivity does not equal conservation.

Elephants need more space than urban zoos can provide.

It’s cruel to keep elephants in zoos.

The largest zoo exhibit is still not big enough to meet elephants’ complex needs.

Inadequate conditions for elephants cause them to suffer painful foot disease and arthritis, infertility, and high infant mortality and stillbirth rates, and aberrant behaviors.

Repetitive rocking, swaying and head bobbing are signs of psychological distress; elephants don’t do this in the wild!

The life of an elephant in a zoo = misery, disease and early death.

Think about it: Elephants have a natural life span of 60-70 years, yet they are dying decades before their time in zoos. You call that conservation?

Time to ban the bullhook in zoos! Stop cruel, circus-style training!

Think about it: North American zoos will spend about half a billion dollars on remodeling exhibits that still will be too small for elephants. That money could protect entire populations of elephants in Africa and Asia!

Think about it: Zoos spend more than $25million a year to display fewer than 300 elephants. That money could protect entire populations of elephants in Africa and Asia!

The world’s leading elephant experts say elephants don’t belong in urban zoos. Why aren’t zoos listening?

Think about it: Scientific research shows that elephants in zoos have far shorter life expectancies than those in the wild.

Keeping elephants in zoos will not save them in the wild.

Elephants don’t belong in cold weather zoos!

To find out how you can help elephants year round – CLICK HERE to Join IDA’s Elephant Task Force!

A close look at a Bullhook.

In a great win, the Fulton County Commission in Georgia voted 4-1 to ban the use of bullhooks on elephants. The ordinance covers unincorporated south Fulton, and it would apply primarily to smaller circuses that visit the area, effectively stopping them from using elephants in performances and rides. Unfortunately, it does not stop the use of bullhooks by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which performs in Atlanta.

Bullhooks are steel-tipped rods resembling fireplace pokers that are used to train and control elephants through physical punishment and intimidation (see accompanying photo). Handlers prod, hook and strike the elephants, often causing puncture wounds, lacerations and abscesses. There is abundant evidence showing that circuses routinely abuse elephants with bullhooks.

The perfect example of this training is seen in the footage recently released by Animal Defenders International, showing a typical training session for the elephants at Have Trunk Will Travel. The footage includes shots of Tai, the elephant featured in the movie Water for Elephants, being shocked with a hand-held electric device, and other elephants as they are hooked and viciously hit with the bullhook. (This company hires out elephants for rides, weddings, films, photo shoots, and parties, including some pretty seamy Hollywood soirees — just about anything that will make them money.) In one shot, the trainer tells the cameraperson not to show her hooking the elephants. That’s because this is the side of elephant training that’s never meant to be seen by the public, no matter if it’s a circus, a zoo, or an outfit like Have Trunk Will Travel.

What most people don’t know is that about half of zoos holding elephants use bullhooks, even though it’s inhumane for the elephants and extremely dangerous for keepers. Just this year, a young zookeeper was killed by an elephant at the Knoxville Zoo. And last year a seasoned keeper was nearly killed by a young male elephant. What makes these incidents even more tragic is that they were entirely preventable. Zoos can use a more progressive and humane training method that uses positive reinforcement and requires a barrier between elephant and keeper.

Please help IDA keep up the fight for elephants in captivity! You can start by taking part in our International Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos (IDAEZ) on June 11, a global event aimed at educating the world about the suffering of elephants in zoos. Click here for more information. If there isn’t an event planned for your zoo, it’s not to late to organize one! Contact IDAEZ@idausa.org to learn how. And stay tuned to this blog for a special announcement next week about action you can take for elephants.

Sara Gruen’s book, Water for Elephants, was a runaway best seller – an internationally acclaimed novel told as the reminiscences of an old man, Jacob, about his experiences with a Depression-era circus where he witnessed the brutalities inflicted on people and animals alike. Jacob is the moral center of the book, recognizing and, where possible, preventing those cruelties, and in the end saving the elephant Rosie from a harsh fate. The movie version of this blockbuster is set for release on April 22, and it will be huge. The stars (Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson), the story, and the pre-release buildup will combine to sell a lot of tickets.

Many people will be drawn to the movie as a lovely – though sometimes gritty – historical romance. They will watch the abuses heaped upon the animals and think about how sad it “used to be” and how much better everything is today. They will be wrong.

Elephants forced to work in circuses today, like those in the era depicted in Water for Elephants, are forced to lead unnatural, deprived lives. They suffer as Rosie suffers, year after year, with no Jacob to come to their rescue. It is no better for the other wild animals used by circuses, who spend their lives in cages and are brutalized into performing tricks for the public. They need your help.

The opening of Water for Elephants will provide us with a unique opportunity to tell people that the kind of cruelty depicted in the movie still goes on. So please save these dates: April 14 (Los Angeles premier), April 17 (New York premier), April 22 (general U.A. release).

Please plan to join IDA in bringing attention to the suffering endured by animals in the circus. You can help by coordinating or joining in events outside your local theaters to let moviegoers know that circus cruelty is not a thing of the past.

Please join our Elephant Task Force and Sign Up for IDA’s Enewsletter for more information about this opportunity to enlighten the public about circus cruelty.

The circus industry is hoping that the film will bring a shot of glamor and glory to a fading form of entertainment. There have already been efforts to use the film to generate sympathy for “Rosie” and to raise money for the International Elephant Foundation, an organization created and run by and for the circus and zoo industries. We need to inform the public that there is nothing glamorous or romantic about the kind of animal abuse rampant in circuses today.

Rather than helping circuses to flourish, Water for Elephants can and should be a catalyst for bringing about an end to the use of animals in entertainment. Elephants used in circuses, films, commercials, and other forms of entertainment are deprived of all that is natural in their lives. They have been torn from their families and subjected to unimaginably cruel training to break their spirits and make them easier to control. They are dominated through negative reinforcement, and trainers and handlers carry the constant threat of the bullhook, a steel-tipped device similar to a fireplace poker used to prod, stab, beat and intimidate elephants into submission.

Please note: Though the film portrays the circus’s treatment of animals in a negative light, IDA cannot endorse it. Unfortunately, the film’s producers did not take the book’s message to heart, instead choosing to use live animals during production of the movie. Rosie is played by the elephant Tai, who is owned by Have Trunk Will Travel, a California-based company that uses elephants for rides and for entertainment.

This blog was contributed by Deborah Robinson, IDA’s Captive Elephant Specialist.

In light of the alarming news that Dondi, an elephant who gave rides at the Southwick’s Zoo in Mendon, Mass., died from tuberculosis, IDA sent an urgent letter to the zoo, demanding the immediate release of her report. According to an article that ran in the Shoreline Times (New Haven, Conn.) on Friday, a necropsy revealed that Asian elephant Dondi died from tuberculosis. While the reporter would not reveal his source, he claimed that the source had the necropsy results in hand.

Tuberculosis in elephants presents a serious public health concern as the animals can transmit the disease to humans as well as other elephants. Unfortunately, tuberculosis is difficult to detect in elephants, who can harbor the disease, sometimes for years, and show no clinical symptoms. The USDA is still working to determine how widespread tuberculosis is amongst elephants in the U.S.

Dondi was the second elephant held at the Southwick’s Zoo who had tuberculosis. Before her, Southwick’s used an elephant named Judy, who was not allowed to give rides due to known prior exposure to tuberculosis positive elephants. After her death in 2007, she was found to have the disease.

Please join IDA in calling on the zoo to end the use of elephants for shows and rides by sending a polite email to the Southwick’s Zoo President Justin Brewer. You can use the sample message that follows, but please be sure to personalize it as much as possible.

Sample letter:

Dear Ms. Brewer,

I urge you to permanently end the use of elephants for performances and rides at the Southwick’s Zoo because it is inhumane for the elephants and unsafe for the public. Your zoo has held two elephants with tuberculosis, which is a serious public health concern as the disease can be transmitted to humans and other elephants. It’s time to do the right thing for the elephants and for the public and stop displaying elephants at your zoo.

Send your email to: justine@southwickszoo.com

Tell USDA to Confiscate Nosey Now

While you’re taking action, please don’t forget Nosey, who needs your help. You can read more about Nosey, link to videos, and take quick and easy action for this suffering elephant by clicking here.

As anyone who has done protests will tell you, circus demos can be the most difficult. Parents are on guard because they’re with their kids. They’re out for a day of fun and are suddenly confronted with protesters, perhaps where they’d least expect protesters to be. What could be more wholesome than the circus? Unfortunately, circuses with animals are far from wholesome. The animals who travel with these circuses are trucked or taken by train from city to city, spending the majority of their time in chains (elephants) or tight confinement (the other animals) when not being forced to perform completely unnatural and painful acts. So when we found out that Ringling Bros. Circus was heading to Portland for the Labor Day weekend, we were motivated to try and get as many compassionate folks out as we could to help educate Ringling’s patrons.

Ringling has a long history of animal abuse and neglect – everything from animal deaths to a list USDA violations a mile long. The most recent developments in Ringling’s long history of abuse are an undercover investigation  which showed Ringling beating elephants and other animals, and recently released, never before seen photos of Ringling abusing baby elephants.

Portland is a city of compassionate, animal-loving people. It’s a progressive town with no tolerance for abuse of any kind and this protest of circus animal abuse was certainly right in line with this city’s values. We mobilized through Facebook and e-mail and on opening night had the largest crowd ever at a circus demo in Portland – 80 people. It was inspiring. And we weren’t done there – all of the protests we held throughout the weekend were well attended – tripling the numbers of folks we had at last year’s demos.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to come out and help. Someone asked me on Sunday if I thought we were truly making a difference, and I responded that if we were absent, we certainly wouldn’t be, but I do believe these peaceful shows of force do make a difference and hopefully plant a seed of compassion in even the most hardened circus supporter.

RIP Tyke

Sixteen years ago today, Tyke , a 20 year old African elephant “owned” by the notorious Hawthorn Corporation, was killed. On August 20, 1994, she was performing with the Circus International in Hawaii when she killed her trainer and gored her groomer, then bolted from the arena and ran through the city for a half-hour, injuring several people before collapsing from the 86 police bullets fired into her. It took nearly two hours for her to die on the Honolulu street.

Tyke’s legacy, a growing worldwide awareness of the suffering of animals in circuses, continues to gather strength. We are working every day to nurture that awareness, and to transform it into action.  Elephants in circuses endure intense confinement, social isolation and the constant threat of physical punishment. We aim to end these abusive practices and to prevent further injuries or deaths – elephant or human – resulting from the proximity between the public and these traumatized, highly stressed animals.

Tyke’s actions came as no surprise to anyone who was paying attention – at least three times in the 16 months prior to her last stand in Hawaii she had escaped her handlers, causing terror and injury to people and to property. Yet she continued to perform until her final hours.

This was not an isolated situation in which one overstressed, rebellious elephant slipped through the cracks; the “system” in place to prevent such occurrences is flawed almost to the point of nonexistence. An Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Audit released in June found that the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), whose job it is to ensure that exhibited animals are handled in a way that does not put the public or the animals at risk, is failing. Neither the inspection process nor the tracking of exhibitors works to safeguard animals or people.

Today there are at least 10 elephants with documented histories of lashing out or bolting who continue to perform around the nation – in close proximity to the public.  Many of them are used to give rides to children. Since February of this year there have been three incidents that we know of (and who knows how many more that went unreported). Two elephants, Viola and an elephant with Ringling, escaped from their handlers, each narrowly missing crowds of circus-goers when they bolted; Viola was injured when she fell down a steep embankment in her attempt to flee. Another elephant, Dumbo lashed out and killed her longtime handler.

Despite all our efforts to find her, Dumbo’s whereabouts have been unknown since shortly after the killing in Pennsylvania; whether she is off the road or has vanished into the thousands of fairs around the country where anonymous elephants turn up for a few days at a time is anyone’s guess at this point. It does not appear that she is under any official travel restriction.

Both Viola and the elephant with Ringling, at last report, are still traveling, still performing, still stressed and miserable – and still putting crowds of people at serious risk.

Sixteen years ago today a person was killed, others were injured, and an elephant died in agony. The public is exposed daily to elephants who have clearly signaled their frustration with circus torture, and to others who have endured years of anguish and stress. We continue to honor Tyke’s memory and her legacy by working to end the use of elephants in circuses and traveling shows to end their suffering and before tragedy strikes again.

This blog was contributed by Deborah Robinson, IDA’s Captive Elephant Specialist.

In yet another victory for animals, the Sacramento (Calif.) City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance amendment that provides greater protection for animals used in traveling exhibitions such as circuses and rodeos. Presented by Councilmember Sandy Sheedy, the amendment establishes an application and permit process for traveling animal exhibitors and empowers Sacramento animal control officers to perform unannounced inspections to insure the humane care and treatment of performing animals.

IDA founder Dr. Elliot Katz provided expert testimony at the hearing, educating the council about the crippling foot and joint diseases that elephants in circuses suffer as a result of constant confinement and being forced to perform unnatural tricks.

The council also heard from local animal advocates, animal organizations, and leading experts on the behavior and care of wild animals, including PAWS Co-founder Ed Stewart, wildlife consultant and veterinarian Dr. Mel Richardson, and animal behaviorist and trainer Gail Laule, who all urged passage of the amendment.

At one dramatic point during the hearing, the Councilmember showed a video of Ringling Bros. Circus trainers brutally hitting elephants in the face, trunk and body with bullhooks as they waited to perform. It should come as no surprise that the council voted unanimously in favor of the ordinance amendment after seeing this blatant display of cruelty.

Dr. Katz hailed the council’s decision as a wonderful first step. “IDA applauds the Sacramento City Council for its unanimous support of this important ordinance that will better protect animal welfare,” said Dr. Katz. “Now it’s our job to continue to educate the public about the plight of animals used in circuses, rodeos and other forms of so-called entertainment, and keep fighting to end these inherently cruel and outdated displays.”

IDA would like to thank all our Sacramento-area supporters who quickly responded to our alerts, sending emails and making phone calls in support of the ordinance. We also thank Councilmember Sheedy for her compassionate leadership for animals, all the council members who voted to approve this important ordinance, and Mayor Kevin Johnson.

You can view the hearing at HERE. Click on the “Watch Now” button for the July 20^th meeting.

If you would like to thank Mayor Johnson and the Sacramento City Council, you can email them at:

Mayor Kevin Johnson
- You must go to the city website and email the mayor via this form.

E-Mail string for entire City Council:

rtretheway@cityofsacramento.org

ssheedy@cityofsacramento.org

scohn@cityofsacramento.org

rkfong@cityofsacramento.org

lhammond@cityofsacramento.org

KMcCarty@cityofsacramento.org

rwaters@cityofsacramento.org

bpannell@cityofsacramento.org

IDA's Bill Dyer Leads Protesters at The Greatest Circus on Earth

History was made in Los Angeles last night. In the biggest circus demonstration the city has ever seen, 300 activists holding graphic signs and colorful banners and wearing elephant costumes and symbolic chains, encircled the Staples Center to protest the opening night of Ringling. Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

The mood was electric as energized activists handed out thousands of leaflets and stickers and educated the public about the suffering of animals in circuses, where they are chained and confined to cramped cages, shipped around the country for 50 weeks a year, and cruelly trained to perform unnatural tricks.

No matter what direction circus customers approached the venue from, they had to walk a gauntlet of protesters passing out descriptive flyers and telling them of the horrors animals endure for their “entertainment.” At least two families decided not to attend after learning the truth about the animals’ miserable lives with Ringling.

A mountain of evidence against Ringling Bros. Circus, including court transcripts, videos and still images, and the testimonies of former Ringling employees, clearly demonstrates that the cruelty has been going on for years and still continues today. The most recent video depicts Ringling workers hitting elephants in the face with bullhooks before performances and whipping tigers during training.

IDA and a variety of animal protection organizations were represented at the peaceful protest, and their message was united: It’s time to end the use of animals in circuses.