Please urge the USDA to end the use of bullhooks and chains on elephants.
Please urge the USDA to end the use of bullhooks and chains on elephants.
The Issue
Trial Reveals Extreme Elephant Abuse by Ringling Bros. Circus
A federal court recently ruled that a circus trainer and animal protection groups did not have legal standing to challenge Ringling's abuse of elephants, but the USDA can ensure that elephants are treated humanely by immediately prohibiting the use of bullhooks and chains on elephants under the handling regulations of the Animal Welfare Act. The evidence produced at trial, including Ringling Bros.' own documents, as well as undercover video, and photographs from a retired Ringling trainer, highlight that bullhooks and chaining inflict a great deal of physical harm to elephants.
The ruling by a federal judge in the lawsuit against Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was not based on the lengthy record of indisputable cruelty to baby elephants, some of whom died during abusive training, or the cruelty to adult elephants who are beaten with bullhooks, the equivalent of a fireplace poker-time and time again. The judge's decision was based solely on the ruling that the former circus trainer and animal protection organizations do not have legal standing to raise these issues.
Judge Emmet J. Sullivan announced his decision in the federal lawsuit against Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus' parent company, Feld Entertainment. The lawsuit alleged that the circus's routine abuse of Asian elephants violates the Endangered Species Act. This ruling was not based on the lengthy record of indisputable cruelty to baby elephants, some of whom died during abusive training, or the cruelty to adult elephants who are beaten with bullhooks—the equivalent of a fireplace poker—time and time again. The judge's decision was based solely on the ruling that the animal protection organizations and the former circus trainer involved in the suit do not have legal standing to raise these issues. Evidence presented at trial and in PETA exposés makes it clear that bullhooks and chains cause elephants enormous pain and suffering.
In the summer of 2009, PETA released video taken during an undercover investigation documenting that numerous Ringling trainers struck elephants with bullhooks backstage at circus shows. In December, we released shocking photographs taken by a Ringling trainer of baby elephants, bound with ropes, being threatened and gouged with bullhooks. Bullhooks have only one purpose—to inflict pain. The sharp metal hook bruises, punctures, and tears elephants' sensitive skin easily and often. Please urge the USDA to end the use of these barbaric tools.
Some of the internal documents presented during the trial highlighted that Ringling's own vet techs witnessed several abuses, including the following:
An elephant was dripping blood all over an arena floor after being hooked on the trunk and leg.A trainer was seen using an electric prod while elephants were unloaded.On four elephants, multiple bleeding lacerations caused by a bullhook were covered with a gray powder called Wonder Dust just before a show.
Former Ringling employees, including several who initially contacted PETA, provided shocking eyewitness accounts of frequent and violent beatings. Click here to read their eyewitness accounts.
Inspections, medical records, and other documents revealed the following:
Dozens of elephants with Ringling have been placed under tuberculosis-related quarantine.Elephants exhibited lameness, which was exacerbated by grueling performances, and a 2-year-old elephant suffered from foot abscesses and lameness.Elephants are chained in boxcars for an average of more than 26 hours straight and up to 100 hours straight.Water was withheld from elephants so that trainers could minimize urination, and the water that was provided was sometimes contaminated with soap or bleach.
Experts who have testified on PETA's behalf in support of legislation to ban the use of bullhooks and chains on elephants also testified at the trial.
A PETA video of Ringling substantiates what witnesses and records revealed regarding the abusive use of bullhooks. Feld Entertainment CEO Kenneth Feld admitted in court that he's seen handlers hit elephants under the chin, behind the ears, or on the legs with a bullhook.
On the heels of the judge's decision, we must urge the USDA to end the use of bullhooks and chains on elephants.
There is clear evidence that the use of bullhooks and chaining violates another federal law, the Animal Welfare Act, which the USDA enforces. We need to ensure that the USDA acts on the indisputable evidence by prohibiting the use of bullhooks and chains on elephants under the handling regulations of the Animal Welfare Act.
Please send polite comments to:
Chester A. Gipson, D.V.M.
Deputy Administrator
USDA-APHIS-AC
4700 River Rd., Unit 97
Riverdale, MD 20737-1234
301-734-7833
301-734-4993 (fax)
Thank you for your compassion for animals.
Sincerely,
RaeLeann Smith
Circus & Government Affairs Specialist
The Issue
Trial Reveals Extreme Elephant Abuse by Ringling Bros. Circus
A federal court recently ruled that a circus trainer and animal protection groups did not have legal standing to challenge Ringling's abuse of elephants, but the USDA can ensure that elephants are treated humanely by immediately prohibiting the use of bullhooks and chains on elephants under the handling regulations of the Animal Welfare Act. The evidence produced at trial, including Ringling Bros.' own documents, as well as undercover video, and photographs from a retired Ringling trainer, highlight that bullhooks and chaining inflict a great deal of physical harm to elephants.
The ruling by a federal judge in the lawsuit against Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was not based on the lengthy record of indisputable cruelty to baby elephants, some of whom died during abusive training, or the cruelty to adult elephants who are beaten with bullhooks, the equivalent of a fireplace poker-time and time again. The judge's decision was based solely on the ruling that the former circus trainer and animal protection organizations do not have legal standing to raise these issues.
Judge Emmet J. Sullivan announced his decision in the federal lawsuit against Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus' parent company, Feld Entertainment. The lawsuit alleged that the circus's routine abuse of Asian elephants violates the Endangered Species Act. This ruling was not based on the lengthy record of indisputable cruelty to baby elephants, some of whom died during abusive training, or the cruelty to adult elephants who are beaten with bullhooks—the equivalent of a fireplace poker—time and time again. The judge's decision was based solely on the ruling that the animal protection organizations and the former circus trainer involved in the suit do not have legal standing to raise these issues. Evidence presented at trial and in PETA exposés makes it clear that bullhooks and chains cause elephants enormous pain and suffering.
In the summer of 2009, PETA released video taken during an undercover investigation documenting that numerous Ringling trainers struck elephants with bullhooks backstage at circus shows. In December, we released shocking photographs taken by a Ringling trainer of baby elephants, bound with ropes, being threatened and gouged with bullhooks. Bullhooks have only one purpose—to inflict pain. The sharp metal hook bruises, punctures, and tears elephants' sensitive skin easily and often. Please urge the USDA to end the use of these barbaric tools.
Some of the internal documents presented during the trial highlighted that Ringling's own vet techs witnessed several abuses, including the following:
An elephant was dripping blood all over an arena floor after being hooked on the trunk and leg.A trainer was seen using an electric prod while elephants were unloaded.On four elephants, multiple bleeding lacerations caused by a bullhook were covered with a gray powder called Wonder Dust just before a show.
Former Ringling employees, including several who initially contacted PETA, provided shocking eyewitness accounts of frequent and violent beatings. Click here to read their eyewitness accounts.
Inspections, medical records, and other documents revealed the following:
Dozens of elephants with Ringling have been placed under tuberculosis-related quarantine.Elephants exhibited lameness, which was exacerbated by grueling performances, and a 2-year-old elephant suffered from foot abscesses and lameness.Elephants are chained in boxcars for an average of more than 26 hours straight and up to 100 hours straight.Water was withheld from elephants so that trainers could minimize urination, and the water that was provided was sometimes contaminated with soap or bleach.
Experts who have testified on PETA's behalf in support of legislation to ban the use of bullhooks and chains on elephants also testified at the trial.
A PETA video of Ringling substantiates what witnesses and records revealed regarding the abusive use of bullhooks. Feld Entertainment CEO Kenneth Feld admitted in court that he's seen handlers hit elephants under the chin, behind the ears, or on the legs with a bullhook.
On the heels of the judge's decision, we must urge the USDA to end the use of bullhooks and chains on elephants.
There is clear evidence that the use of bullhooks and chaining violates another federal law, the Animal Welfare Act, which the USDA enforces. We need to ensure that the USDA acts on the indisputable evidence by prohibiting the use of bullhooks and chains on elephants under the handling regulations of the Animal Welfare Act.
Please send polite comments to:
Chester A. Gipson, D.V.M.
Deputy Administrator
USDA-APHIS-AC
4700 River Rd., Unit 97
Riverdale, MD 20737-1234
301-734-7833
301-734-4993 (fax)
Thank you for your compassion for animals.
Sincerely,
RaeLeann Smith
Circus & Government Affairs Specialist
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Petition created on December 31, 2009