J. David Stem

Elephant Lovers

For one century Ringling has heaped unparalleled cruelty on animals which are really slaves for life. Workers are carnies who outright lie knowing that the "suckers" will believe them because it is hard for nice people to wrap their minds around the mistreatment these animals receive daily. Never let any circus carnie tell you that these animals live well. They don't. They are trapped in cages and chains for life. They do NOT get to get out. While traveling they are either too cold or too hot and sit at railroad sidings sometimes for days without keepers being able to access them. Their urine and feces ruin their bodies as they lie and/or stand in their mess. The only exercise they get is when they are briefly let out to perform, after all what town is going to let lions, tiger or elephants loose to exercise. When performing they are prompted by hidden tazers to get in the godawful positions demanded. This is nothing compared to the "training" they had to endure. The carnies will tell you it is based on "positive reinforcement" and that is outright falsity. These poor animals have a life of constant fear. Paramount will be doing a total disservice to the enslaved animals if they produce a movie that makes Ringling look anything but what they were and are - thugs.

1 month agoby @Elephant-LoversFlag

Patricia Hughes

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is known for its long history of abusing animals. In 1929, John Ringling ordered the execution of a majestic bull elephant named Black Diamond after the elephant killed a woman who had been in the crowd as he was paraded through a Texas city. Twenty men took aim and pumped some 170 bullets into Black Diamond's body, then chopped off his bullet-ridden head and mounted it for display in Houston, Texas. Ringling's cruel treatment of animals continues today.

Elephants in Ringling's possession are chained inside filthy, poorly ventilated boxcars for an average of more than 26 straight hours-and often 60 to 70 hours at a time-when the circus travels. Even former Ringling employees have reported that elephants are routinely abused and violently beaten with bullhooks (an elephant-training tool that resembles a fireplace poker), in order to force them to perform tricks. Read more about the Ringling whistleblower who told PETA about the shocking death of a lion and the abuse of elephants in Ringling's care.

Since 2000, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cited Ringling numerous times for serious violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), such as the following:

Improper handling of dangerous animals
Failure to provide adequate veterinary care to animals, including an elephant with a large swelling on her leg, a camel with bloody wounds, and a camel injured on train tracks
Causing trauma, behavioral stress, physical harm, and unnecessary discomfort to two elephants who sustained injuries when they ran amok during a performance
Endangering tigers who were nearly baked alive in a boxcar because of poor maintenance of their enclosures
Failure to test elephants for tuberculosis
Unsanitary feeding practices
At least 29 elephants, including four babies, have died since 1992, including an 8-month-old baby elephant named Riccardo who was destroyed after he fractured his hind legs when he fell from a circus pedestal. Elephants are not the only animals with Ringling to suffer tragic deaths. In 2004, a 2-year-old lion died of apparent heatstroke while the circus train crossed the Mojave Desert.

1 month agoby @Patricia-HughesFlag