‘Tiger’ and ‘Elephant’ to Demand Retirement at Ringling’s Opening Night in Providence

Protesters Will Call for Releasing All Wild Animals to Sanctuaries Now

For Immediate Release:
April 29, 2016

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

This Saturday, PETA supporters in tiger and elephant costumes will converge on the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus’ appearance in Providence. The protesters will call for the lions, tigers, elephants, and other animals forced to perform in Ringling’s shows to be immediately retired to accredited sanctuaries.

Where:           Dunkin’ Donuts Center, at the intersection of Sabin and Snow streets, Providence

When:             Saturday, April 30, 10 a.m.

In their natural habitats, big cats roam vast territories, but in circuses, they are carted from arena to arena in cages so small that they can barely turn around. During performances, the threat of violence forces them to do physically challenging stunts, such as walking on their hind legs. And while Ringling’s performances with elephants will end on May 1, a new report prepared by PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—reveals that elephants at the circus’s “retirement” facility are still chained and abused with bullhooks, which are weapons that resemble fireplace pokers with a sharp hook on one end and that the circus uses to beat elephants into submission. The elephants are also at risk of contracting deadly tuberculosis, which is also transmissible to humans.

“Chains, cages, whips, and bullhooks are the tools of Ringling’s trade,” says PETA Foundation Captive Animal Law Enforcement Counsel Rachel Mathews. “PETA is calling on everyone to stay away from Ringling Bros. until the circus takes tigers, lions, and all other animals off the road and retires them to accredited sanctuaries.”

For more information, please visit PETA’s website RinglingBeatsAnimals.com.