ViNull/cc by 2.0 Tennessee officials agreed with PETA that the Knoxville Zoo should be penalized for allowing handlers to come into direct contact with elephants and has recommended $8,400 in fines in connection with the death of a handler earlier this year. Since the attack, the zoo has switched to a safer and more humane … Read more »
Sweet Georgia Brown! Or should I say, “Sweet Fulton County Board of Commissioners”? Earlier today, following pressure from PETA, concerned members of the community, and celebrities like Demi Moore, the board approved a ban on the use of bullhooks—batons with a sharp metal hook on the end that are used to hit captive elephants in order to keep … Read more »
Demi Moore is making a decent proposal to the Fulton County, Georgia, Board of Commissioners. The actor is urging boardmembers to vote in favor of a proposed ban on bullhooks tomorrow. In her letter, Moore explained how elephants used in circuses are beaten bloody with the sharp instruments to force them to perform tricks that … Read more »
Another circus, another ailing elephant. After PETA filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) about severely underweight elephants traveling with the Hanneford Family Circus, inspectors found that Liz, a 36-year-old Asian elephant, is so thin that her ribs, pelvis, and spine are protruding. Liz also has deformities of one front leg and … Read more »
We’ve developed some pretty thick skin about having our ads rejected, but this one left us feeling like we were, well, run over by a bus. The Paradise Valley Unified School District in Phoenix is selling ad space on its school buses to raise funds. Since Ringling Bros. inundates the schools with pro-circus propaganda, we thought it … Read more »
Despite undercover footage of Ringling and Carson & Barnes Circus showing that they treat animals cruelly, both circuses are still trying to deceive people to keep their sales alive. PETA knows that these circuses hurt elephants, and we want to force them to come clean. We believe that both of these big-top bullies are illegally deceiving the … Read more »
When Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus brought the Cruelest Show on Earth to Norfolk, Virginia, where PETA is headquartered, we were waiting for it with a demonstration 75 people strong. Why are we so riled at Ringling? Here are the top five reasons it’s better to protest Ringling than to attend a performance: … Read more »
Earlier this week, we posted undercover video footage taken by London-based Animal Defenders International showing a handler who used a pitchfork and a club to viciously beat an elephant named Annie. When confronted with the video, the elephant’s owner, Bobby Roberts, wisely scrambled to save face by allowing Annie to retire from his “Super Circus” and … Read more »
Rock icon and animal defender Pink recently fired off a letter to President Obama asking him to find out why the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has closed three investigations into serious allegations of cruelty to animals by the Ringling Bros. circus without taking action. The investigations expired because of the statute of limitations—a delay … Read more »
Undercover footage released by London-based Animal Defenders International shows an elephant handler with the “Super Circus” as he viciously kicks and beats a chained 58-year-old elephant named Annie with a pitchfork and a club. At one point, it appears that the elephant, who was taken from the wild as a child for a lifetime of servitude … Read more »
When Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus paraded its 3-ton elephants through the streets of Washington, D.C., the animals might have been surprised to be greeted by one of their own. Well, one of our own, to be exact—a giant inflatable elephant, who grabbed a lot of attention from would-be circus attendees. PETA members protest Ringling … Read more »
Minarae/cc by 2.0 Great news out of Knoxville: The Knoxville Zoo has decided to permanently employ the protected contact (PC) system to manage the elephants there. PETA has been urging the zoo to switch to PC, which involves using a barrier such as a metal screen, bars, or a restraint chute to separate elephants and handlers at … Read more »
A photojournalist spent days riding through the Burmese jungle on a motorbike in an attempt to capture on film how elephants are “trained” before being smuggled out of Burma and sold into slavery to perform in circuses and street shows in Thailand. Brent Lewin’s prize-winning photograph is leaving viewers horrified in disbelief. During the training session that … Read more »
UPDATE: Last week, Doug Terranova resigned from his position as zookeeper at the Dallas Zoo citing “issues in his business and personal life”. Let’s hope he stays far, far away from any animals. An exotic-animal trainer’s days of abusing exotic animals may be coming to an end. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has just … Read more »
