Tag Archives: wild animals

Six reasons why big cats don’t belong in circuses!

April 23, 2015 admin

We’ve poured our hearts into the elephants-don’t-belong-in-circuses crusade. Progress!

NOW IT’S TIME TO SAVE THE BIG CATS WHO SUFFER in Ringling and other traveling shows. LIONS, TIGERS, PANTHERS, COUGARS … all of these MAGNIFICENT AND MAJESTIC wild cats have captivated humankind’s imagination for millennia. Because they are so big, so beautiful, so exotic. All the more reason to let them BE FREE IN THE WILD, WHERE THEY BELONG. – Rosalie Tirella

Fom PETA.ORG:

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus made headlines when it announced that it was phasing out its cruel and dangerous elephant acts by 2018. However, many circuses, including Ringling, continue to exploit and abuse big cats, and, for those animals, there is no end in sight yet.

Here are six reasons why big cats do NOT belong in circuses:

1. In circuses, big cats are often forced to live intiny, cramped cages.

Circuses routinely cart animals from town to town in barren cages that deprive lions and tigers of opportunities to fulfill their basic needs to exercise, roam, socialize, forage, and play. Many big cats are forced to eat, drink, sleep, defecate, and urinate in the same place. The only relief that many are given from this nearly perpetual confinement is during their brief performances, when they are subjected to whippings and roaring crowds. As a result of captivity, many big cats are overweight, while others suffer psychologically. The stressful, unnatural environment can cause some to pace back and forth or even mutilate themselves.

2. Their maternal bond is broken.

In the wild, young tigers grow up with their mothers, but animals used in circuses are often separated long before they would naturally part, causing emotional distress for both mothers and cubs.

3. Their basic social and physiological needs are denied.

Tigers are naturally semi-nocturnal and love the water. In circuses, they’re carted around and forced to perform in the daytime and denied access to any kind of watering hole.

Adult tigers are solitary animals, but circuses ignore this fact and make them live in unnatural and often incompatible groups, sometimes resulting in fights and injuries.

CLICK HERE to read more!

Uncategorized

Adorable pygmy hippo dies in travelling show!

January 29, 2015 admin

Why can’t America do right by wild animals? Why so much pain, suffering and death? – R.T.

From PETA.ORG …

Written by Jennifer O’Connor | January 29, 2015

Animals continue to suffer and die while in the “care” of the notorious Carson & Barnes Circus. A hippopotamus named Katie, whom the circus had hauled around the country, was found dead. Her spine and hip bones were protruding, yet the circus had never weighed her and wasn’t tracking her body condition before she died. … CLICK HERE to read more!

InCity Letters

Worcester’s DCU center and animal cruelty

January 29, 2015 admin

January 29, 2015

Editor:

It’s a shame that organizers of the Kids Fun Fair and Zoo [at the DCU center] are offering camel and elephant rides. Such cruel animal exploitation should be condemned, not condoned.

Elephants forced to give rides are controlled through fear.

Elephants obey or know they will be hit with bullhooks, heavy batons with a sharp steel hook on the end – picture getting whacked with a fireplace poker.

Handlers strike elephants on the most sensitive parts of their bodies – behind the ears, their face and feet.

If we look at what life on the road means to elephants compared to their place in nature, we can see how far we have degraded these complex and keenly intelligent animals.

There is nothing more important to an elephant than family. Births are joyous celebrations; deaths of loved ones are mourned. Youngsters are nurtured in close-knit family units in which aunts babysit, grandmothers teach youngsters life skills such as how to use different kinds of leaves and mud to ward off sunburn, and siblings roughhouse and play.

Elephants have the largest brains of any mammal on Earth and think, plan and remember. Elephants truly never do forget; their memories are extraordinary.

Young camels used to provide rides are often ripped from their nurturing mothers when they are only days old so they can get “used to” public contact.

Camels are naturally free-roaming animals and fare very poorly when kept continuously in transport trailers and small pens. They can be skittish and unpredictable.

Both Bactrian and Dromedary camels have a poor tolerance for rough handling. This presents a potentially hazardous situation for both the riders and the animals.

Please think about the poor quality of life for these animals, who are hauled around in trucks and forced to plod in endless circles all day long.

There’s little respite between events, and when not working, they spend their lives in cages and chains.

Renting animals out for rides does nothing to foster respect. Children learn that animals can be exploited for their fleeting distraction and amusement.

The Kids Fun Fair and Zoo should stop supporting cruel animal displays.

Yours truly,

Jennifer O’Connor
Senior Writer
PETA Foundation
501 Front St.
Norfolk, VA 23510

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From the editor:

PLEASE BOYCOTT THIS DCU EVENT! Exotic animals NEVER BELONG IN TRAVELING “SHOWS”! To be EXPLOITED, WHIPPED, HAVE THEIR SKIN TORN BY BULLHOOKS! Please! Don’t take your kids to this “fun” event. – R. Tirella

InCity Voices

Why 2014 was a good year for animals

January 5, 2015 admin

Jett supports PETA!

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President’s message – PETA

By Ingrid Newkirk

Dear Friends,

2014 was another banner year for PETA and the animals we defend.

As described by The Saratogian’s horse-racing columnist, PETA’s first-of-its kind eyewitness investigation of horse drugging at Saratoga Race Course and Churchill Downs “exploded like a nuclear bomb in the racing community.”

In February, our mobile veterinary clinics division celebrated its 100,000th surgery.

In a major victory for baby seals—won with PETA’s help—the World Trade Organization upheld the European Union’s ban on seal fur imports, a landmark step toward protecting animals under international trade law.

The shocking footage from our wool industry exposé has been viewed 3.8 million times, and more than 65 apparel companies have begun displaying our new “PETA-Approved Vegan” logo in response to consumer demand for animal-friendly clothing!

We managed to get 18 bears who had been imprisoned in concrete pits or cells moved to beautiful sanctuaries, where they now enjoy fresh air and grass beneath their feet.

Thousands of people on three continents heard PETA’s message of compassion in person as a result of my “Naked Truth” wake-up tour. Following a speech at Harvard Law School by the PETA Foundation’s director of animal law about the cruelty of SeaWorld, the Harvard Law Record—the oldest law school newspaper in the nation—wrote: “Orca captivity is barbaric, inhuman and a gross violation of the rights of a highly intelligent and deeply feeling creature. The work of people like [the PETA Foundation’s director of animal law] makes apparent that generations to come will one day look upon such practices with eyes filled with shame and disgust.”

PETA’s strong outreach efforts among the fastest-growing demographic in the U.S.—the Latino community—reached millions. PETA Latino’s website was visited by more than 10 million people, our Spanish-language “Glass Walls” agribusiness exposé was viewed by more than 1.3 million people …

CLICK HERE to read more!

InCity Voices

Wild things! The best Christmas gifts!

December 17, 2014 admin

By Michelle Kretzer

Most of us share our homes with animals, so we know that they provide us with companionship, teach us how to love unconditionally and help us enjoy the outdoors and get more exercise. But wild animals also quietly provide us with many other benefits that we rarely notice. As we count our blessings this holiday season, let’s pause to consider the other species who share our planet and the many ways that they make our lives better.

Oysters, clams and mussels clean up the ocean. As these industrious little bivalves suck in ocean water to feed on bacteria and phytoplankton, they also ingest pollutants and other harmful chemicals and send the filtered water back into the sea.

Dolphins are do-gooders. Pods of wild dolphins are a breathtaking sight ― and they can also be a lifesaving one. There have been dozens of reports of humans and dogs who were rescued from drowning by dolphins. Scientists believe that since dolphins are smart, altruistic animals, they can recognize when other species are in danger and will work to save them.

Beavers are dam handy. By helping to regulate waterways with their dams, busy beavers help prevent floods and droughts and lessen the damage done by forest fires.

You’d be nuts not to respect squirrels. Trees and plants can rely on squirrels to help them reproduce. As squirrels bury nuts and seeds to stockpile for winter, they sometimes forget where some of them are buried. Thus, the nuts and seeds germinate, growing new trees and plants and sustaining a healthy ecosystem.

Sharks deserve a fair shake. Their strong immune system allows them to eat weak, old and sick fish, which prevents disease from spreading among sea life and also keeps the oceans healthy.

Ants have contributed to aviation and made flying more pleasant. Have you been on a flight that offered open seating? Thank ants. To determine the most efficient way to get all passengers on board, one airline studied highly organized ant colonies, which demonstrated the ant equivalent of open seating.

Birds are talented recyclers. They repurpose our trash, especially items such as string and paperclips, as they build their nests. Male bowerbirds in Australia are particularly fond of picking up pieces of brightly colored plastic to build their “bowers,” arched walkways that are beautifully decorated in order to attract females.

Wild horses protect the plains. Their digestive tract can’t break down seeds, so when they eat plants and then continue to roam, they deposit whole seeds on the ground in their feces. Later, the seeds germinate and keep plant populations strong. Wild horses also help other animals survive the winter. When water sources freeze, horses break the ice with their hooves, providing smaller animals with the opportunity to drink.

Bats deserve a big pat on the back. Little brown bats can eat more than 600 mosquitoes in one hour. And if that’s not enough to make bats your favorite animal, consider this: Bats also pollinate Agave tequilana, the plant that gives us tequila.

Moles win the garden club award. Many gardeners value skunks, raccoons, moles and other animals because the small holes that they dig in lawns and gardens when in search of grubs aerate the soil. These animals also eat the grubs who would otherwise prey on a gardener’s plants.

Animals improve our lives every day in countless important but little-known ways. Perhaps it’s time that we repaid them simply by letting them live undisturbed and free.

InCity Feature, InCity Letters, InCity Voices, Uncategorized

Our federal government fails to safeguard wild animals in circuses …

October 8, 2014 admin

From PETA.ORG …

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By Jennifer O’Connor

The PETA Foundation’s Captive Animal Law Enforcement (CALE) division tackles cruelty to animals used in entertainment at local, state, and federal levels.

For example, CALE representatives met with top U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials to make the case to take action in behalf of an aging and likely arthritic elephant named Nosey.

Despite abundant evidence that Nosey is suffering, along with the support of more than 165,000 compassionate people, the government officials showed up unprepared to address concerns about Nosey and refused to commit to enforcing the Animal Welfare Act to protect her.

Immediately after the meeting, we asked supporters to contact the USDA’s inspector general to condemn the agency’s outrageous lack of response. Video footage shows that Nosey, who is used for rides and forced to perform tricks by Liebel Circus, has been struggling to get around week after week.

Not only is arthritis extremely painful, it can also be deadly for elephants. In fact, experts report that foot and musculoskeletal problems are the leading reasons why captive elephants in the U.S. are euthanized.

But Nosey may still have many happy years ahead if she is placed in a reputable sanctuary.

Here are some other recent CALE actions:

CALE sent a complaint to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Augusta, Maine, asking the agency to hold Hope Elephants accountable for the death of the facility’s cofounder Dr. James Laurita, who was crushed to death by an 8,000-pound Asian elephant while he was in the animal’s pen. The agency confirmed that it is investigating. Allowing Dr. Laurita to come into direct contact with captive elephants was a fatal mistake. In the protected contact system of managing elephants, ropes, chains, and bullhooks are not used and barriers such as a metal screen, bars, or a restraint chute always separate elephants and handlers.
Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) has mandated that elephant-care providers at all AZA facilities absolutely minimize the amount of time that elephants and keepers share the same space because of the serious dangers to workers. Direct contact with elephants has resulted in 17 human deaths and more than 135 injuries to humans in the U.S. since 1990.
CALE wrote in support of a bylaw prohibiting the use of wild and exotic animals in traveling circuses in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and after the local Kiwanis Club launched an effort to get the Town Council to rescind the bylaw, we posted an action alert for local residents to voice their support of the ban. Seeing the growing tide of opposition to cruel animal acts, the Kiwanis Club conceded. This means that the Cole Bros. Circus, which the club had previously hosted, will have to leave the animals behind or skip the town altogether.

What You Can Do!

InCity Feature, InCity Letters, InCity Voices, Uncategorized

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus beats, punches and whips its animals! Former employee speaks out!

September 27, 2014 admin

Archele Hundley, a former Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus employee, recently teamed up with PETA to make a moving plea to potential circusgoers.

Hundley, who witnessed elephant beatings during her time with Ringling, urges people to stay away from the circus.

“I saw handlers deliver a beating … for 30 minutes. She was covered with bloody wounds. I’ll never forget her agonizing screams,” says Hundley. “Please, never take your children to a Ringling Bros. circus.”

Hundley worked on Ringling’s animal crew for two months.

During that time, she witnessed incidents of abuse, including the following:

In 2006 an elephant in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was beaten with bullhooks so severely that she bled profusely and cried out in pain. A trainer viciously whipped a camel and punched a miniature horse in the face.

Trainers jabbed horses with pitchforks and gave them extremely painful “lip twists” to force the animals to obey commands.

An elephant with painful arthritis was kept on the road.

“The abuse was not just once in a while—it occurred every day,” says Hundley.

She continues: “The elephants, horses, and camels were hit, punched, beaten, and whipped by everyone from the head of animal care down to inexperienced animal handlers hired out of homeless shelters.”

Archele says that she repeatedly complained to circus management about the abuse but to no avail, prompting her to quit in disgust.

Archele teamed up with PETA because she wanted others to learn about the cruelty involved when animals are forced to perform in circuses.

You can help spread the message by boycotting the circus and telling everyone you know about circus cruelty.

InCity Letters, InCity Voices

Ringling Bros circus heads to Worcester. BOYCOTT it!

September 18, 2014 admin

The Telegram and Gazette has it wrong! … PLEASE! Never go to circuses that feature wild animals like elephants, tigers, lions, bears and chimps! … This article gets us all thinking … – R. Tirella

The tragedy of Tyke continues

By Jennifer O’Connor

It’s human nature to recall in vivid detail what you were doing when shocking news broke. I was at my kitchen sink, with a small television on the counter broadcasting the news, when the story broke that Tyke, an elephant used in a traveling circus, had been gunned down on the streets of Honolulu. A full glass of water shattered on my floor as I watched the video footage in horror. It was August 20, 1994.

Police pumped 86 bullets into Tyke. This screaming elephant, covered with blood, her eyes the size of dinner plates, died in abject terror and agonizing pain. Why?

After years of chains and beatings, Tyke had snapped.

She crushed her trainer and escaped the arena into the streets of downtown Honolulu, where she charged pedestrians and smashed vehicles before finally being killed.

As devastating as her death was, there’s at least comfort in knowing that her suffering is over. The same cannot be said of the dozens of other elephants who are still being used and abused in circuses two decades after Tyke’s death.

Despite the vast amount of empirical evidence of elephants’ intelligence and emotional complexity uncovered in the last 20 years, circuses still exploit these animals as if they were nothing more than wind-up toys. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus forcibly removes baby elephants from their frantic mothers, ties them down with ropes by all four legs, threatens them with bullhooks and shocks them with electric prods to break their spirits and make them perform tricks.

Conditioned from infancy to obey commands or face the painful consequences, these dejected youngsters go through their days with no hope, no relief and no joy.

Elephants would never perform grotesquely atypical types of behavior such as headstands on command without the constant threat of punishment.

Elephants who have been captured from Asia and Africa are not uncommon here in the U.S. About half of the elephants used by Ringling, for example, were snatched from the wild and will never set foot in it again.

Elephants truly never do forget. Their memories are extraordinary.

Elephants who were torn away from their homes and families must spend the interminable hours during which they plod in circles giving rides, pace back and forth in zoo displays or perform in circus shows dreaming of the vast savannas and lush jungles left behind.

But they will never again experience the culture and challenges of their rightful homelands. Their lives consist of loneliness and pain, bullhooks and chains.

And being born in captivity doesn’t fool elephants into believing that that’s where they belong — they know they’re missing everything that’s critical to who they are. Genetic imperatives don’t disappear just because an animal isn’t where he or she is supposed to be.

Nearly all captive elephants develop neurotic behavior, such as constantly swaying or bobbing their heads in a futile attempt to cope.

Instead of walking many miles every day, seeking out friends and visiting favorite watering holes, elephants in circuses are chained by the leg, barely able to take a single step forward or back. Most die far short of their expected life spans.

Those who want to pay homage to Tyke and all the elephants who have suffered and died in captivity will continue to turn their backs on animal circuses and other elephant exploiters.

Uncategorized

England has banned exotic animals from circuses!

October 28, 2013 admin Leave a comment

From the EXPRESS. To read entire story, click on the InCity Times circus Facebook page, to the right … – R. T.

AT LAST! Ban on ALL wild animals in circuses is passed

The RSPCA has said it is very relieved the Government has finally confirmed it will ban ALL wild animals in circuses.

By Stuart Winter

There was a fear that only big cats and elephants would be banned

There was a fear that only big cats and elephants would be banned [PA]

There were fears that only big cats and elephants would be banned from travelling circuses after MPs’ recommendations early this summer.

But now there has been confirmation from Government ministers that a ban on the use of all wild animals in circuses in England will go ahead by the end of 2015.

Many leading charities and animal welfare organisations such as the RSPCA, Born Free Foundation, the British Veterinary Association and the Captive Animals’ Protection Society have campaigned together against wild animals being used in circuses.

The RSPCA has been particularly outspoken, warning that wild animals are likely to suffer from being dragged around the country from pillar to post just so audiences can be “entertained.

RSPCA senior scientist Dr Ros Clubb said: “It is a great relief that the Government has listened to reason and we are back on track to getting a proper ban on the use of all wild animals in circuses.

“As the Government has pointed out, there is absolutely no basis for protecting only a select group of wild animals, and no desire to do so from MPs, the public or animal welfare groups. No wild animals belong in a circus.

“Now we need to leap over the final hurdle and get a definite date for this legislation to be passed and end this outdated practise.

“Animals have already been waiting too long and another two years is still a long time to endure the constant travel, cramped temporary cages, and noisy conditions of a circus. The licensing scheme that is running in the meantime is not good enough to safeguard the welfare of these majestic animals.”

The RSPCA and Born Free Foundation have offered to help Defra and circus owners re-home the wild animals currently being used in circuses. …

To read more, click on the InCity Times circus Facebook page to the right, above, under the tethered elephant!

InCity Feature, InCity Letters, InCity Voices, Uncategorized

End of the road for animal acts

October 10, 2013 admin Leave a comment

By Jennifer O’Connor

The trend is undeniable: The days of hauling animals around and hurting them in the name of entertainment are quickly coming to an end. Winnipeg is the latest municipality to slam the door shut on circuses using exotic animals. Mayor Sam Katz and the Winnipeg City Council made it clear that they will no longer tolerate circus cruelty.

All around the world, cities and entire countries are banning exotic-animal circus acts. Austria, Bolivia, Colombia, Greece, Paraguay and Peru have done so already, and others, including Britain and Scotland, are on the verge of doing so. Besides outright bans, many cities are saying no to the tools that circuses use to inflict pain, such as the bullhook—a heavy baton with a sharp metal hook on the end that can rip and tear elephants’ skin—and electric prods. Since circuses control animals with these cruel devices—or more accurately, attempt to control them, since so many have run amok—such prohibitions effectively keep the animals out.

Only a decade or so ago, the fabulous Cirque du Soleil was one of the few alternative circuses around. But the demand for cruelty-free entertainment has skyrocketed, and now there are more than a dozen vibrant, innovative productions touring North America that don’t exploit animals. Even consummate huckster P.T. Barnum couldn’t convince today’s informed public that beating animals and keeping them in cages and chains from birth to death is acceptable.

The empirical evidence of what life is like for animals in circuses is undeniable and readily available to the public. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, for example, paid a record $270,000 to settle multiple violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act. At least 30 elephants have died while in Ringling’s hands since 1992.

Former employees of Ringling have come forward to report egregious abuses, including forcibly removing baby elephants from their frantic mothers, tying them down by all four legs, and slamming them to the ground, surrounded by “trainers” wielding bullhooks and electric hotshots.

An undercover investigator videotaped a Carson & Barnes elephant trainer who was viciously attacking elephants with a bullhook and shocking them with electric prods. The elephants screamed in agony while recoiling from the assaults. The trainer can be heard instructing his students to sink the weapons into the elephants’ flesh and twist them until the elephants scream in pain.

Despite being ordered to pay a $7,500 penalty to settle nearly three dozen charges of violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act, the Liebel Family Circus continues to drag around an elephant named Nosey, even though she is suffering from a chronic skin condition. The Piccadilly Circus was given an official warning by federal authorities about its animal-handling practices. The Kelly Miller Circus has been cited for denying adequate veterinary care to an elephant with a painful, oozing puncture wound on her ear, among other abuses.

The facts are simple and stark: Animals in circuses suffer tremendously. Every parent or grandparent who buys a ticket is contributing directly to the animals’ misery. Every child who exits a show believing that hurting animals is “fun” leaves a bit of his or her heart behind. Our elected officials should enact additional laws that put a stop to an outmoded form of “entertainment” that has no place in a civilized society.