Former Employees Speak Out About Elephant Abuse at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus
The two former employees stated that they repeatedly complained to the management of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus about the abuse of the elephants, but no action was taken to correct the situation. Both employees left the Ringling circus in the summer of 2006, no longer willing to witness the abuse.
Among the allegations by the former employees are:
· Details of a June 2006 beating of an elephant in Tulsa, OK. The beating was said to have lasted over thirty minutes and the employees stated that the elephant bled profusely as she cried out in pain throughout the beating.
· Accounts of elephants being struck daily with bullhooks (heavy steel-tipped sticks) and are kept chained unless they are released for public viewings.
· Accounts of elephants being transported from circus location to circus location in rarely-cleaned urine and feces-soaked boxcars.
· Observations of elephants who are terrified of trainers to the point that they defecate, urinate, or vocalize fear at the sound of the trainer's voice.
· Details of topsoil supplies kept on hand to rub into bloody bullhook wounds to conceal injuries sustained by the elephants.
· An account of an elephant with arthritis pain who was denied medication and kept active on the circus route.
Animal rights activists, People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have called for a ban on bullhooks and chaining of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus elephants. PETA Director Debbie Leahy offered support to the two former Ringling Brothers' employees who stepped forward to speak out about the abuse.
"These two insiders give the public a rare glimpse into the beatings and other abuses that go on behind the scenes at the circus."
PETA's 2006 video footage of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus also supports the claims by the two former Ringling Brothers' employees. The tapes shows lame elephants limping to arenas and handlers abusing elephants with heavy, steel-tipped bullhooks, along with one elephant suffering a bloody wound from a bullhook.
The Human Society of the United States (HSUS) has previously encouraged the public to re-think visiting circuses with live animal acts.
"Wild animals in circuses are subjected to inhumane conditions as they travel from town to town in circuses and traveling shows," according to Michael Markarian, executive vice president for The HSUS. "With so many choices in family entertainment, there is no justification for supporting circuses that use elephants, tigers and other wild animals to perform tricks and other unnatural behaviors."
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13 Comments
Post a CommentI question the stability of a human(I state human lightly)the soul the morals of anyone who could harm an animal. Gods mosy defenseless creature. One day they will have to answer to a higher power. but still the animals suffer. I hope a life of hell for all the abuser. Remember karma is a bitch
I am choking back the tears as I read about the elephant crying out in pain as they beat her... I am very angry right now. This is horriffic. These animals are at our mercy. They do not have their own voice. I wish I would have been there. Stop supporting this enterprise! Stop going to the circus PLEASE!
I went 2 the circus and the elephants looked very tired, sad and sickly. The tigers was a waste of time they were not having it. The whole wild animal entertainment should be removed. Hey Ringling, Sea World uses RESCUED animals and train them for their shows.......I think Ringling Bros should know its time to shut down!
One immediate thing we can do right now to help is... STOP GOING TO THE CIRCUS. There's nothing about a circus that's healthy for any animal. Let's not give our hard earned dollars to an organization that can't respect these beautiful animals. It makes me wonder, what else is happening behind Ringling Brothers Barnum and Baileys closed doors?
Thank you to the people that shared the footage and information regarding the treatment of the animals. That is the kind of courage and goodness that makes the world a better place - one person at a time.
ppl are so messed up these days. why would anyone want to hurt an animal???? IT'S SICK!!!! i should write a report for my 8th grade class about elephant abuse like Aubrey C did. Maybe I can open some ppl's eyes.
This has great information. I'm writing a speech for my 7th grade class about elephant abuse, and this helped a lot. I'M NEVER EVER GOING TO ANOTHER CIRCUS EVER AGAIN! Everyone that comments is saying the same thing: "It's wrong, and it shouldn't be done. It needs to stop." Well here's a heads up, It's not going to stop. There are too many cruel people in this world, abuse is never going to stop. But that doesn't mean you can't try to stop it, it just means you can't stop it.
How strange that the same web page which printed this article about ex-Ringling employees testifying about brutal abuse of elephants by Ringling also posts 7 promotions for the circus!
I cannot understand in this day and age why anyone would pay money to watch these majestic animals abused and belittled. I hope most people have a "social conscience" and realize the cruelty of existing circuses. Why this is allowed to continue, I cannot understand. We all have to take a stand as decent human beings to stop this torture.
Is this really true? Was this recently or a while ago i think its very unkind to do that to such loving animals.
This is just outrageous.