PETA Global 2017 Issue 1

“ [Kenneth] Feld had set up a special unit, much like the Watergate ‘plumbers,’ to destroy anyone who threatened the image of the circus as wholesome fun for the whole family …. His main target was People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and similar groups that had annoyed Feld with charges that the Ringling Bros.’ elephants were badly cared for. ” – “The Greatest Vendetta on Earth,” Salon, 2001 Goliath

WINS

to stop using these painful implements to jab and beat elephants, the end was in sight. In 2016, Ringling stopped forcing elephants to spend most of their lives in boxcars and pulled them from touring. Months later, the company conceded that its dwindling attendance made the business “unsustainable.” What’s Next? PETA will continue to call for all the animals Ringling is holding captive to be retired to reputable sanctuaries. Our goal is to see animal-free circuses worldwide.

Boxing Glove: © iStock.com/Ljupco | Elephant: © iStock.com/Saddako | Film: © iStock.com/spinout

and beating, whipping, and hitting elephants with bullhooks (heavy batons with a sharp metal hook on one end). Later that year, PETA released shocking photos of baby elephants who were tied by all four legs and abused with bullhooks and electric prods. People were horrified to see that these babies, who were still nursing, were torn, screaming and crying, from their frantic mothers and forced to endure violent training sessions until they gave up all hope. A Long Record of Cruelty After an adult Bengal tiger named Arnie was shot to death in his cage by an angry Ringling trainer, PETA called on the USDA to suspend the circus’s exhibitor’s license. The agency ultimately issued a letter of warning. Ringling dismissed injuries that a zebra named Lima had sustained – and was later euthanized for – after escaping the circus and leading police on a 40-minute chase. PETA asked the USDA to remove zebras from Ringling’s

traveling shows in light of the escape as well as previous incidents in which multiple zebras ran amok.

When the USDA allowed the statute of limitations to expire on some serious cases – including that of Clyde, a lion who essentially baked to death in a Ringling boxcar – PETA’s attorneys met with the agency’s general counsel to voice objections. Two years later, the USDA assessed a $270,000 civil penalty against Ringling, the largest ever against an exhibitor under the federal Animal Welfare Act. A spokesperson for Feld Entertainment admitted that Ringling had agreed to multiple settlements with the agency to avoid any formal finding of wrongdoing. Banishing Bullhooks Over the years, one municipality after another recognized bullhooks for the weapons that they are and banned them. Since Ringling and other circuses refused

UniverSoul Circus has

worked with Hugo Liebel, who has racked up violations for two decades

concerning his treatment of an ailing elephant named Nosey, and has also contracted with with big-cat exhibitor Mitchel Kalmanson, who reportedly kept tigers caged 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the entire four to seven weeks that they were on the road – and sometimes even longer.

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