Hadi Shrine Circus Losing Sponsorships Left and Right
Victory! Another top sponsor of the notoriously cruel Hadi Shrine Circus, home-building company Jagoe Homes, has cut ties with the circus following a push from PETA.
In a letter to PETA, the owner of the company thanked us for “changing the world on how circuses are handling wild animals” and expressed hope that “maybe all animals will be out of the circus someday.”
The Hadi Shrine Circus is among the last remaining shows still exploiting elephants and other animals who are confined to small crates, kept in shackles, and deprived of any semblance of a natural life.
In the circus’s 2022 shows—of which Jagoe Homes was a top sponsor—handlers forced elephants, ponies, and camels to give rides to customers. The circus also used a snake and a pony, who was made to wear a unicorn costume, in stressful photo ops.
The 2023 Hadi Shrine Circus used eight elephants from Carson & Barnes Circus, whose head trainer was caught on video viciously attacking an elephant with a bullhook—a weapon that resembles a fireplace poker with a sharp hook on one end—until she screamed in pain.
The Sponsors Have Spoken: It’s High Time Hadi Shrine Switched to Animal-Free Shows
If Hadi Shrine’s loss of support from major companies is any indication, today’s socially conscious consumers don’t want to prop up circuses that profit off the exploitation and abuse of defenseless, often traumatized animals.
In February 2023, former top sponsors of the circus—global brands PPG Industries, a paint manufacturer, and DSM, a health and nutrition company—both ended their sponsorships of the Hadi Shrine Circus. Following talks with PETA, another former sponsor, Polyram Plastic Industries, also agreed to support only animal-free entertainment going forward.
Every company that pulls its financial support from these cruel spectacles helps move Shrine circuses closer to ending their use of animals.
Here’s What You Can Do
Stay far away from circuses that use live animals and instead support animal-free circuses. You can also help by urging Hadi Shrine Circus to go animal-free:
