PETA Statement: Oakland’s Elephant-Protection Bill Moves Forward

For Immediate Release:
December 3, 2014

Kudos to the Oakland City Council’s Public Safety Committee, which approved a proposed ban on bullhooks—weapons that resemble fireplace pokers with a sharp hook on one end—so that the full City Council can vote on it later this month. This is an important step toward ending the cruelty that elephants face in the circus. We can’t change the past for elephants who have endured the beatings and deprivation of circus training, but Oakland can refuse to allow such abuse to continue. PETA looks forward to a ban on bullhooks by Oakland’s full City Council before the year is out.