Update: The Atlanta City Council voted to prevent the use of bullhooks but only when it can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that they were used in a specific instance to “discipline” an elephant and that the elephant’s skin was broken, scarred, or otherwise damaged as a result. This is a step backward from … Read more »
When he learned that Topsy, an elephant used by Piccadilly Circus, tested positive in two tuberculosis (TB) screening tests, Maine’s state veterinarian, Don Hoenig, barred the circus from taking her into the state. Since Piccadilly didn’t want its other elephant, Annette, to perform without Topsy, neither elephant will be forced to perform in Maine. Elephants … Read more »
Thanks to many, many kind people around the world, PETA’s campaigns often reach even farther than the group’s “official” campaigners can, as we were reminded when we came across this picture of a mural that someone had created in Szczecin, Poland, based on peta2’s “Elephants Never Forget” campaign. In any language, the image of the … Read more »
Whips, cuffs, collars, bondage, and beatings: E.L. James’ best-selling novel reads like a circus trainer’s handbook. But unlike the consenting couple in the book, elephants in circuses don’t have a choice when it comes to being dominated. And if beating elephants into submission and forcing them to perform painful acts isn’t 50 shades of wrong, … Read more »
Update: Rather than follow in Rio Rancho’s compassionate footsteps, the New Mexico State Fair has decided to allow Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus to perform on the state fairgrounds from June 1 to 3 despite Ringling’s long history of animal abuse and the vocal opposition of many citizens. You can express your disagreement with … Read more »
PETA has joined Animal Defenders International in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for illegally issuing permits allowing the Ringling Bros. circus to export endangered tigers and elephants for use in its shows anywhere at any time for the next three years! How Do You Spell ‘Rubber Stamp’? F-W-S FWS … Read more »
Animal advocates’ voices are being heard loud and clear today, as PETA and eight other animal protection organizations have joined forces to keep Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus from taking “The Cruelest Show on Earth” abroad—including to Mexico, where animal protection laws are virtually never enforced. Ringling’s Ridiculous Request Ringling applied to export … Read more »
You might recall that last fall, PETA convinced Simon Property Group, the largest real estate company in the country, to ban exotic-animal exhibits at all its properties. At one mall that Simon owns in Winchester, Virginia, Cole Bros. Circus makes an annual appearance during the city’s Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, which means that Cole Bros. … Read more »
Update: The U.S. Department of Agriculture has ordered Cole Bros. to pay a $15,000 penalty for its numerous violations of the Animal Welfare Act. After receiving complaints from PETA about the cruel and neglectful treatment of elephants Tina and Jewell, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has now formally charged Cole Bros. Circus and its owner, John … Read more »
“As a lifelong Democrat, I never thought I’d lead an effort to defend the symbol of the Republican Party,” writes Alec Baldwin in a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. Baldwin is sending Vilsack the video he hosted for PETA exposing Ringling Bros.’ abuse of animals and asking … Read more »
PETA’s work to put a stop to the elephant rides offered at California fairs by the notoriously cruel exhibitor Have Trunk Will Travel—including submitting extensive written testimony to fair board members, sending a PETA representative to testify, and issuing an action alert—continues to bear fruit, as Orange County has followed in the compassionate footsteps of … Read more »
In the final chapter of a case we’ve been following for some time now, the Knoxville Zoo has agreed to pay a $9,000 fine stemming from the death of elephant handler Stephanie James, who was crushed by Edie, a female African elephant. The zoo was initially cited after PETA urged the Tennessee Occupational Safety and … Read more »
In advance of the Ringling Bros. circus’ stop in Baltimore later this month, Jada Pinkett Smith, a proud native of Charm City, has written to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake urging her to make sure that the city’s absolute ban on the use of any “mechanical, electrical, or manual device that is likely to cause physical injury … Read more »
Snooki sees the light, more trouble for SeaWorld, and the Oscars are starting to look a lot like a PETA gala. Here’s what’s going on in PETA’s universe this week: PETA News on Tumblr Give us five minutes, and we’ll give you all the latest animal rights news on PETA’s Tumblr page. Don’t read this … Read more »
Ringling Bros. might have gotten a reprieve from the bullhook ban in Fulton County, Georgia (claiming it can’t have elephants without the weapons), for the moment, but The Cruelest Show on Earth couldn’t escape the throngs of people who showed up to protest on its opening day. Armed with a bullhorn, posters, leaflets, a flat-screen … Read more »
