Circus Protest February 7, 2009
Florence, South Carolina 29501
Physical punishment has always been the standard training method for animals in circuses. Animals are beaten, shocked, and whipped to make them perform—over and over again—tricks that make no sense to them. The AWA does not prohibit the use of bullhooks, whips, electrical shock prods, or other devices used by circus trainers. Trainers drug some animals to make them “manageable” and surgically remove the teeth and claws from others.
Video footage shot during a PETA undercover investigation of Carson & Barnes Circus revealed Carson & Barnes’ animal care director, Tim Frisco, viciously attacking, yelling, and cursing at and shocking endangered Asian elephants. Frisco instructed other elephant trainers to beat the elephants with a bullhook as hard as they could and to sink the sharp metal bullhook into the animals’ flesh and twist it until they screamed in pain. The videotape also showed a handler using a blowtorch to remove elephants’ hair and chained elephants and caged bears exhibiting stereotypic behaviors caused by mental distress.
Clyde Beatty-Cole circus has been cited repeatedly by the USDA for animal welfare violations. According to congressional testimony provided by former Beatty-Cole elephant keeper Tom Rider, “[I]n White Plains, N.Y., when Pete did not perform her act properly, she was taken to the tent and laid down, and five trainers beat her with bullhooks.” Rider also told officials that “[a]fter my three years working with elephants in the circus, I can tell you that they live in confinement and they are beaten all the time when they don’t perform properly.”(9)
Archele Hundley was an animal trainer with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. She says she worked with the company for three months and quit after she allegedly saw a handler ram a bullhook into an elephant’s ear for refusing to lie down. Ringling Bros. “believes that if they can keep these animals afraid, they can keep them submissive,” Hundley said. “This is how they train their employees to handle these animals
Official Website: http://circuses.com
Added by adrienne_floyd on January 29, 2009
Comments
timsale31
One more thing if any one reads this post and still decides to go to the circus ,you are helping support this kind of behavior and should be ashamed.....I will never attend another circus in my life after reading this ,and i will defeintly spread the word !!!!
thrill29069
I think its amazing how big of hypacrites some people are.The animals are being fed,and giving a place to live.I dont believe this "activist",would want these animals living at their house,if that was the only way they could save them.Now would they?
virginia232
thrill20069: what are talking about?? this people live off of those inocents animals.
They are zoo`s for them or different places that they can be located.
Circus dont do anything good for the animals but abuse them.So shut up!!
youpeoplerstupid
you guys are complete idiots. dont you have anything better to do than protest for animals. what about the thousands of homeless people in the area. you are all complete idiots for this. retards
funkyspunkiegirl
Nobody is an idiot for caring what happens to animals. Everyone can not be moved for the same cause, or the world would loose balance. Besides, if someone were to whip a homeless person with a bull whip, I'm sure they would recieve punishment to the fullest extent of the law. Homeless people have a voice, animals do not.
youpeoplerstupid
yes they are you treat animals as if they where humans and thats why you guys are idiots. protesting at a frickin circus all of you dont have anything better to like a job or overall life just to mention a couple of things. idiots.
adrienne_floyd
caring about animals should never be critiziced.
timsale31
it is unbelievable that this kind of abuse goes on,and that nothing is done about it!!!! If any of you trainers read this comment you bet not come to my town to put on a circus bc you might end up with a bullhook in your Ass!!!!