I HOPE This Is True:
Children, who are naturally fond of animals, would have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the circus
if they knew of the suffering these animals endure for a fleeting moment of so - called
AMUSEMENT
~
What is this?
Why it's an elephants foot! A circus elephant's foot!
A Jordan World Circus Elephant's Foot!
Bimbo in her trailer
~
Burger King Ends Sponsership of UniverSoul Circus
Burger King was the first of the major fast-food chains to introduce a veggie burger.
Now, the fast-food giant has joined General Mills and Ford Motor Company to become the third
corporation to end its national sponsorship of the UniverSoul Circus.
PETA had written to Burger King officials, describing the abysmal animal-care records of the animal exhibitors
who supply UniverSoul-records that include violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act, tiger escapes, and animal deaths.
Please send letters of appreciation to Burger King for making the compassionate decision:
Bradley Blum, CEO
Burger King
5505 Blue Lagoon Dr.
Miami, FL 33126
305-378-3000
305-378-7262 (fax)
~
The Circus
Rome July 1, 2004
There are 130 circuses in Italy, the most in Europe. They are run by 60 families and
involve 1,300 captive animals.
Animal rights activists say that many of these circus stars are subjected to beatings,
whippings, electrical charges, starvation, and are often drugged.
The director of the Liana Orfei circus says hyenas cannot be trained even if they are beaten a hundred times,
and seals will only respond if they are made to go hungry because their skin is too delicate to withstand beatings.
Source: ipsnews.net
~
Activists Ask Parents, Kids to Boycott Circus
Circus workers train and handle elephants by striking them with a bullhook or digging it into the most sensitive parts of the animals’ bodies.
Violent and cruel training methods, which also include the use of whips, electric prods, chains
and muzzles, are routinely used in circuses, including Ringling, which issues "sucker" statements,
claiming that its animals are well treated, to the media at every stop.
Ringling is a chronic violator of the federal Animal Welfare Act and has an abysmal history of deaths of animals in its care,
particularly in a recent two-year period:
* Two baby elephants died at Ringling.
One was forced to perform despite being visibly ill, costing the circus nearly $20,000 in a settlement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture
The other baby elephant drowned while being chased by a trainer.
* A horse known to be suffering from a chronic condition collapsed and died during Ringling’s animal march in Norfolk, Va.
* A tiger was shot dead while locked in his cage by a Ringling trainer.
* A wild-caught sea lion was discovered dead in her small transport cage.
"Beatings are part of everyday life for animals in circuses," says MAARA co-founder Bianca Phillips.
"We believe that if parents and kids are told the truth about the misery and suffering of animals in circuses,
they'll stop buying tickets."
For more information about the cruelty of circuses, please visit
Circuses.com
~
Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Clown Arrested on Porn Charges
A clown with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus,
(Thomas Allen Riccio, 23, of Jacksonville, Florida)
has been arrested on charges stemming from a child pornography investigation.
Riccio's computer contained "thousands of images, many of which involve prepubescent children engaged in various sexual and lewd acts."
U.S. Customs agents leading the investigation
said this clown's profession brought him into contact with hundreds of families.
Source: CNN
Date: 5.26.04
I never saw a clown I didn't hate.
~
Circuses Responding to Pressure from Animal Rights Activists
Over the past decade, animal rights activists have argued tirelessly that circus animals
suffer from confinement, neglect, stress, isolation and, in some cases, abuse.
In March of 2004, the USDA seized 16 elephants from John F. CUNEO Jr., owner of Hawthorne Corp.,
one of the largest providers of circus animals in the country.
Cuneo and his trainers were charged with failure to control their animals in public and provide them with adequate veterinary care, according to USDA.
One of the few circuses that maintains a large elephant herd is Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey, which breeds its animals on a 200-acre farm in Florida.
But even Ringling Brothers has been targeted for animal rights abuses.
In 1998, the venerable circus was fined $20,000 by the USDA for forcing a sick elephant named Kenny to perform.
He later died, and animal rights activists dubbed the circus "The Cruelest Show on Earth."
~
confinement, and violent training.
It is standard practice to beat, shock, and whip them to make them "perform"
ridiculous tricks that they cannot comprehend.
Source:
Circuses.com
~
~
UniverSoul Circus
In early July, a seriously ill kangaroo who was used by UniverSoul Circus
died
in Nashville, Tennessee. The kangaroo was reportedly suffering from a deadly bacterial disease,
called "lumpy jaw," which may
be caused by overcrowding, poor hygiene, or poor diet.
The circus was aware of this kangaroo's delicate condition yet
continued to use him in performances
in which he was harassed into defending himself in a boxing routine and subjected him to
the rigors of travel and constant confinement.
This kangaroo should have been taken off the road immediately after he was
diagnosed with this usually fatal illness
and provided with medical care by a qualified veterinarian with experience in treating
kangaroos.
UniverSoul Circus continues to exploit two other kangaroos who were exposed to this highly contagious disease.
It is imperative
that the remaining kangaroos be taken off the road
and provided with appropriate veterinary treatment.
Fortunately, the Detroit
Zoo has offered to provide expert medical treatment and a safe, nurturing home
for the surviving kangaroos if authorities seize
them.
PETA first reported this kangaroo's condition to the USDA in June, before he died, and has made several subsequent
complaints.
The USDA is supposed to enforce the minimum standards of care established in the federal Animal Welfare Act.
To date, there has been no response from the USDA to these complaints.
Please contact USDA officials and urge them to seize the circus's two surviving kangaroos immediately and launch an
investigation into the death of the third kangaroo:
Dr. Elizabeth Goldentyre
USDA-APHIS Animal Care
Ste. 200
920 Main Campus Dr.
Raleigh, NC 27606-5210
919-716-5532
919-716-5696 (fax)
In addition, please write to UniverSoul Circus officials and ask that they eliminate cruel animal acts from their circus.
Mr. Cedric Walker, President
UniverSoul Circus
Ste. A
510 Whitehall St.
Atlanta, GA 30303
404-588-1235
404-681-9824 (fax)
UniverSoul Circus escapes the scrutiny of governing bodies such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA
and
local animal control agencies by not owning the animals used in its shows or possessing an exhibitor license.
The animals are
leased from outside companies, including Tarzan Zerbini Circus.
Rte. 2, Box 195, Webb City, MO 64870
USDA License #43-C-0012
Fact Sheet
Tarzan Zerbini Circus has failed to meet minimal federal standards for the care of animals used in exhibition as established
in the Animal Welfare Act (AWA).
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cited Tarzan Zerbini Circus for
failure to provide a veterinary care program and medical records,
failure to provide minimum space, and
failure to properly
maintain transport vehicles.
Animals used by Tarzan Zerbini Circus have caused serious injury to children.
Contact PETA for
documentation.
~
"O" Magazine Promotes Elephants in Circuses as "Personal Balance"
As part of an article on personal balance in Oprah
Winfrey's magazine,
there are 2 pictures of elephants
in circuses "balancing".
One is on a ball; the other
is on top of a half-pipe with a skateboard at her feet,
as if she were going to skateboard down.
Animals in circuses live lives of misery.
Elephants
are chained by their legs and forced to travel the
country most of the year.
"Trainers" use sharp bullhooks,
whips, and electric prods to teach elephants and other
animals to do unnatural tricks.
Baby elephants' spirits
are broken when they are taken prematurely from their
mothers and put into the traveling shows.
In the wild,
female elephants stay with their mothers and their
herd for life.
The magazine fails to recognize elephants'
unnecessary suffering in circuses
and perversely compares
their tricks to how humans can hope to find balance
in juggling a busy schedule.
Awareness is growing about
the plight of animal in circuses, but it has clearly
not reached "O" magazine.
What we can do:
Please let the magazine know that glamorizing the circus
sends an improper message and is not in line with the
type of mental, emotional, and spiritual balance that
is the magazine consistently recommends. Encourage
the magazine to visit Circuses.com and to do a
story about rescued circus elephants now living at
The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.
Contact O Magazine
~
King Tusk
Ringling Bros. Asian Elephant Dies at Age 57
VIENNA, Va., Dec. 22, 2002
King Tusk, a 57-year-old male Asian
elephant living in retirement with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, was
humanely euthanized yesterday (Saturday, December 21). A magnificent and
beautiful Asian elephant with 6-foot-long tusks, King Tusk was a star
performer with Ringling Bros. in the 1980s and early 1990s. He passed away
quietly at Ringling Bros. elephant retirement facility in northern Florida in
the company of his pachyderm companions and human caretakers.
Also known as Tommy, King Tusk weighed more than 11,000 pounds, measured
10 feet at the tallest point of his back and 16 feet from tail to tusk tip and
was thought to be the largest land mammal traveling the face of the earth
while he was performing. In his later years, he developed osteoarthritis from being chained and had reached a point where everyday movement was painful, and he had become
unresponsive to treatment.
~
Anne
From Bobby's Website:
"By visiting
Bobby Roberts Super Circus you experience much more than just looking at the circus elephants, as you do at the zoo, you have the opportunity of seeing these animals interacting with one another and with Bobby as they are put through a series of routines that encompass what they would normally do in the wild, but choreographed into an act."
"Your e-mails are always a JOY to receive, unfortunately being on the road 7 days a week we do not always have direct access to the Internet. We do our best to reply however we do ask that you bear with us as we do not always have Internet access available to us." bobby@bobby-roberts.co.uk
Golly boys and girls! Bobby's circus is so much fun! Be sure to send him an email and let him know how much you enjoy watching captive, tortured animals exploited for money!!
~
U.S. Postal Service Certifies Cruelest Show on Earth
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus's latest publicity gimmick is to haul Bo the elephant to post offices to "deliver mail" while being escorted by a trainer threatening his every move with a sharp metal bullhook. This dangerous and cruel stunt is done with the permission of
the United States Postal Service (USPS).
Bo is a male elephant who was subjected to highly risky castration solely
to keep him performing in circuses. Castrating elephants is major surgery
because an elephant’s testicles are internal. Mortality rates for this
procedure have approached 90 percent. Unless castrated, bull elephants are
virtually worthless to circuses because they become extremely aggressive
and unpredictable as they mature.
Ringling leases Bo from the George Carden Circus, a circus that was fined
in May 2001 for cruelty to animals. Ringling's own U.S. Department of
Agriculture inspection records are riddled with tragic animal deaths,
violations, investigations, penalties, and warnings for violating minimum
standards of care. Animals used in circuses live a dismal life of
domination, confinement, and violent training. Please ask the USPS to
cancel its Ringling promotions immediately.
Contact: John E. Potter, Postmaster General and CEO
United States Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plz. S.W.
Washington, DC 20260
Tel.: 202-268-2284
Fax: 202-268-4860
E-Mail: pmgceo@email.usps.gov
~
Costa Rican Animal Circus Ban Needs Your Support
Costa Rica is considering regulations to prohibit the use of animals in circuses. Please contact the Costa Rican minister of environment and justice and urge her to pass these very important regulations.
~
ONE MORE STEP
UPDATE: NO MORE CRUEL CIRCUS IN MALTA
SOURCE: The Animal Spirit
Michael Pearson, Chairman World Animal Conscience
As you may be aware we have been campaigning against the exploitation of
animals in circuses for a while now. (Malta Circus)
The aim has always been to prevent
them visiting Malta.
This year matters came to a head with our demonstration and protest on
the first nights performance. Sadly 7 of our protesters were injured in
an unprovoked attack by circus employees. This attack was caught on
video and is being used by the police who are charging 3 Italian
employees of the Circus Città di Roma.
The incident brought the issue to the attention of the media like never
before, we have all been rushing from TV, to Radio to Newspapers, to
give comments, explain the situation and debate the issue of animal
cruelty in circuses.
Today came the news we dreamed of, the following statement was issued by
the promoters of the circus,
"Circus promoters CJ Productions Ltd said yesterday they would no longer
bring circuses with animal acts to Malta, in a bid to fall in with the
wishes of animal rights activists. Leo and Johann Said, of CJ Productions, said in a statement Città di
Roma would be the last circus with animal acts they would bring to
Malta."
So there is hope and although sometimes we all feel as if we are making
little progress, this is a campaign that can be won. Every town, city or
country that stops circuses is one more step on the way to the end of
this outdated exploitation and cruelty.
Please pass onto anyone you think will be interested, and
if you need any more information, just ask.
Take Care,
Michael Pearson, Chairman, World Animal Conscience
To World Animal Conscience: Congratulations! And thank you for this new and important step.
Jody@JodysJungle.com
and thank you to The Animal Spirit for this update! 1/1/02
~
CARSON & BARNES CIRCUS
Caught Torturing Elephants
PETA has supplied undercover videotape to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that shows Carson & Barnes’ elephant trainer TIM FRISCO yelling at, cursing, viciously attacking, and shocking endangered Asian elephants. The elephants emit agonizing screams while recoiling from the assaults.
Frisco instructs other elephant trainers to hurt the elephants until they scream, holler, and run away, to forcefully strike the elephants with a bullhook, and to sink a sharp metal
bullhook into their flesh and twist it back and forth until they begin to scream in pain...
Story
There is also a link to the video, I don't recommend viewing it.
Circus Vargas Elephant Chained To Truck.
These animals spend 95% of their lives in chains or in trucks,
moved from city to city for Decades.
Earthlife.org.za
~
Chained Between Performances,
All Day, Every Day
~
Most elephants used by circuses were captured in the wild. Once removed from their families and natural habitat, their lives consist of little more than chains and intimidation. Baby elephants born in breeding farms are torn from their mothers, tied with ropes, and kept in isolation until they learn to fear their trainers. Do humans really want this for other living creatures? And if so, why?
"Performing"
So you like watching performing animals?
In order to "tame" them, they must be "broken", here is an unnamed three year old,
chained, pulled, confined in an unnatural position, denied food, water, shelter, dignity, beaten with bullhooks, baseball bats, iron bars and wooden axe handles. And this is only a very small part
of the story.
Some "trainers" have used bulldozers to get the chained elephants "attention".."teach them a lesson." Sometimes the elephants die, thank god, but never quickly, it takes a very long time for a being as large as an elephant to die. And sometimes the elephants don't die...
ELEPHANT AWARENESS
I hate these pictures, I can't even believe they are here on my page, I hate that this happens, but sometimes a picture smacks our emotions enough to wake us up.
And if they don't...I have nothing to say to you..actually, I have A LOT to say to you...
~
~
NEWS FLASH!
CIRCUS CHAIRMAN, FELD, IS AGAINST ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUPS
Mercury News Monday, Jan. 7, 2002
"Assailing the recent elephant abuse trial in San Jose, the CHAIRMAN of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus took out
full-page newspaper ads
Monday to condemn animal rights groups as animal killers, not protectors."
"FELD said he doesn't know if he'll take out other
newspaper ads, but he hopes animal rights groups get his message and cease what he views as harassment tactics..."
Rest assured we got your message, MISTER FELD and we will be in touch.
Meanwhile...
Backstage at the circus
RINGLING BROS.CIRCUS
The Ringling Bros. trial was front page news and this is a crucial time to send letters to the editor of your local newspapers
regarding the circus and your feelings about using animals for entertainment.
(Mark Oliver Gebel of Ringling Bros. and
Barnum & Bailey Circus, son of the late legendary animal trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams, is accused of gouging the hide of Asia
the elephant as she was being led into the ring of San Jose's Compaq Arena.)
For information regarding circuses,animal abuse, animal exploitation, public safety, visit:
HSUS..Big Lie..Big Top
Circuses.com
Contact The Media: Congress.org...Media Guide
~
JOYCE
(Photo
Courtesy of The Elephant Alliance)
Joyce, a pathetic victim of CIRCUS VARGAS,
was forced to continue working despite the fact that for years she was dying of Tuberculosis.
"After months of sickness, JOYCE collapsed and died. Three days later, HATTIE collapsed as she was being unloaded from a
truck. Instead of calling a vet, CIRCUS VARGAS officials simply pushed her into a trailer, and she died all alone while being
shipped back to winter quarters in Gray's Lake, Ill. Tests showed that both elephants had died of TB. Both Joyce and Hattie had
given rides to children up until the day before their deaths."
The Story of JOYCE & HATTIE
Animals Who Suffer Under the "Big Top"
Suarez Seven Becomes Suarez Six:
A few days after a Puerto Rican judge failed to convict the Suarez Circus
of animal cruelty charges, federal law enforcement officials entered the
Suarez Circus and confiscated Alaska, one of the seven long suffering
polar bears. Acting on DNA evidence that proves that the circus presented
false documentation to the agency regarding the identity of at least one
of the bears, the Fish and Wildlife Service seized Alaska and flew her to
the Baltimore Zoo. While this is great news for Alaska, 6 polar bears are
still languishing in glaringly inhumane conditions and are still forced to
perform in Puerto Rico. Now, more than ever, letters are needed urging the
USFWS to finish its job and confiscate the remaining "Suarez Six" for
violations of the MMPA and the Lacey Act:
Chief, Permits Division
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Division of Management Authority
4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 700
Arlington, VA 22203
Fax: 703-358-2281
UPDATE
Suarez Bros.
Circus Found NOT GUILTY
SOURCE: Winnipeg Free Press, Friday, March 1, 2002
(excerpts)
Animal rights activists in the United States and Puerto Rico were
devastated yesterday when a Puerto Rican judge acquitted a circus owner
charged with mistreating several polar bears. "It was a miscarriage of
justice," said Delma Fleming, a volunteer with the Humane Society of
Ponce, Puerto Rico. "There is no way that circus owner should have been
acquitted with the evidence that was produced against him." Circus owner
Raul Suarez faced two animal-cruelty charges as a result of complaints
last August that seven polar bears -- three of them from Churchill --
had been left in sweltering 45 C heat without access to water and
air-conditioning. Carla Cappalli, president of the Puerto Rico
Federation for the Protection of Animals, said the evidence against
Suarez was overwhelming, adding it included videotaped footage of the
bears on the day in question and testimony from an expert on polar
bears, Dr. Ann Duncan, chief veterinarian of the Detroit Zoo. Duncan had
testified that the videotaped evidence showed the bears were extremely
overheated last August and in poor condition overall. Cappalli said
Suarez's defence rested on the testimony of two veterinarians who
admitted they knew little about polar bears but were confident the
animals were fine.
Thanks to: The Animal Spirit.com
Charges Brought for CIRCUS POLAR BEARS Mistreatment
by Jamie Sutterlin and David Milner
The Humane Society of Puerto Rico and the Department of Natural Resources of Ponce have filed animal cruelty charges against the SUAREZ Brothers Circus for keeping seven polar bears in filthy cages and failing to provide air conditioning or even a pool for the
animals.
"These poor things are suffering horribly," said Howard White, a spokesperson for The Humane Society of the United States. "They've lost something like 30 or 40 percent of their body mass, and they have mange."
The United States Marine Mammal Commission (USMMC), as well as 16 United States
Senators and 55 members of the House of Representatives, also have condemned the treatment of the bears.
Polar bears can overheat at a temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, yet the SUAREZ Brothers Circus has exposed its seven to temperatures as high as 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
The USMMC has requested that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, both of which have responsibility for ensuring the well-being of animals, substantiate the claims against the circus in preparation for a trial that is scheduled to begin on January 22, 2002.
"We feel that there is ample cause to confiscate the bears," said World Society for the
Protection of Animals (WSPA) International Projects Director John Walsh. "WSPA is
currently in the process of hiring an independent polar bear expert to inspect the bears and
provide the findings to the USDA."
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has already found several zoos willing to take the animals.
© 2001 Animal News Center, Inc.
P.S.If you don't go to the circus, animals will not be trapped and bought for circuses, and then whipped, beaten, burnt and clubbed in order to perform tricks for your amusement.
USDA Sued Over Elephant Abuse Documents
By Cat Lazaroff SOURCE: lycos.com
WASHINGTON, DC, December 21, 2001 (ENS)
Three animal protection groups have filed suit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture seeking information about how much the agency knew, and when, regarding the mistreatment of elephants at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus. The
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), the Animal Welfare Institute, and The Fund For Animals filed a lawsuit on Thursday under the Freedom of Information Act, to obtain documents concerning the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) knowledge of elephant
abuse by the multimillion dollar Ringling Bros. circus. Over the last
five years, the USDA has started several investigations of Ringling
Bros. under the Animal Welfare Act, the law protecting animals in the
circus. In almost every instance, investigations were closed or settled
without the agency pursuing any federal charges or disclosing the
underlying evidence to the public. The investigations were triggered by
reports from former Ringling Bros. employees who testified that animals
were chained up to 24 hours a day and beaten with bullhooks to train and
control them. In one instance, an investigation was triggered when USDA
inspectors saw baby elephants with large bloody lesions at a Ringling
Bros.' elephant breeding facility in Florida. In May of this year,
attorneys for the animal welfare groups made a formal request for the
documents, but they were denied access to the USDA's evidence. The
groups say they already have several recent videotapes of Ringling
Bros.' employees poking and hitting elephants with bullhooks and other
instruments. "Under the law, the USDA must let the public know what
evidence it is sitting on from closed investigations conducted in the
last four years concerning Ringling Brothers' treatment of endangered
Asian elephants," said Katherine Meyer, attorney for the plaintiffs.
"Although the USDA has conducted more than a dozen investigations of
charges that Ringling Brothers' abused their elephants, the USDA has
refused to release the documentation collected during their
investigations," said Lisa Weisberg, ASPCA senior vice president of
government affairs and public policy. "While the inhumane treatment of
elephants has often been documented in circuses and zoos around the
world, such treatment has rarely been scrutinized in a court of law,"
said Richard Farinato, the Humane Society's director for captive
wildlife protection. "We believe it is time for consumers to stop
patronizing circuses that harm elephants in pursuit of profit." said Wayne Pacelle, HSUS
senior vice president. The HSUS
says that elephants used by circuses are almost constantly on the road,
traveling to more than 100 cities a year. They are crammed in railroad
cars, and they are afforded very few opportunities to exercise or graze.
They are often on chains that do not allow a full stride for more than
20 hours a day, HSUS says. "It is not a question of resources or
expertise with animals, or of the reputation of a circus or its
trainers. In order to handle elephants in a circus environment,
dominance and discipline must be established and maintained by a
trainer," said Farinato. "Such dominance and discipline depends on the
act or threat of physical abuse and making sure the elephant knows that
very well."
"But for the use of physical punishment by,
and fear of their oppressors,
animals would never be a part of a circus."
Richard
Pryor
without first attaining an understanding of compassion - Socrates |
CAPTIVITY is the keeping of wild animals in confinement under human control; it is the denial of freedom. Captivity today includes zoos, safari parks, marine parks, circuses, private collections, roadside attractions and more, much more.
SOURCE:
Born Free
Zoo Check Project
WILDLIFE PIMPS
There are hundreds of substandard wildlife attractions throughout the U.S., ranging from backyard menageries to so-called "sanctuaries" to drive-through parks. Masquerading as conservation, education, or rescue facilities, roadside and traveling zoos are among the worst abusers of captive wildlife and fuel the multibillion–dollar–a–year trade in exotic, rare, and endangered species.
The animals are kept in grotesquely inadequate conditions and suffer a myriad of problems, such as neglect, abuse, malnutrition and insufficient veterinary care. With little opportunity for mental stimulation or physical exercise, animals often become despondent and develop abnormal and self-destructive behaviors, called zoochosis. These behavioral disturbances include pacing, rocking, swaying, bar-biting, pulling out hair and feathers, and biting themselves.
Profit-hungry zoo operators perpetually breed animals so they will have an endless supply of "cute babies" in order to draw crowds. The older, unmanageable animals are left to languish in small cages or disposed of when they have exhausted their "usefulness."
Exotic animal auctions, frequented by unscrupulous dealers, are a popular method of discarding unwanted "display" animals, who ultimately end up in the pet trade, on breeding farms, killed for their skins and other organs, or used for canned hunts.
Some animals, such as tigers, lions, and bears—both cubs and adults—are worth more dead than alive. Hides alone can fetch $2,000 to $20,000 or more. Entire families are slaughtered and stuffed for mounts that sell for $10,000. To avoid damaging pelts, animals are killed by the most gruesome methods imaginable, such as shoving ice picks through their ears and into their brains, suffocating them by wrapping plastic bags around their heads, and drowning.
Baby animals are exploited from the day they are born. Newborns are prematurely removed from their mothers, which denies them proper nutrition and the natural socialization process required for normal development. Tigers, lions, and cougars are torn from their mothers when they are just 5 days old and declawed at 2 weeks of age. Mothers spend weeks calling frantically for their missing babies. In the wild, tiger cubs stay with their mothers for three years.
Primate mothers, who passionately protect their babies, often need to be sedated so that their 1-day-old infants can be pulled, diapered, and bottle-fed.
Bear cubs naturally remain at their mothers' sides for the first two years of life, but breeders pull them after only a month.
These frightened, helpless infants are often crated and shipped across the country to buyers or hauled around for exhibition. Some do not survive the stress.
The Siberian Tiger Foundation in Ohio promotes itself as an "education and training" facility that allows the public to "experience a unique hands-on close encounter with full-grown tigers as well as baby cubs." Like many roadside zoos, the Siberian Tiger Foundation also drags the animals around to schools, hospitals, amusement parks, and even weddings for "educational programs" supposedly because "the smiles on [its] visitors’ faces" will somehow contribute to the tigers’ survival.
According to Animal Underworld, by Alan Green, there are approximately 250 tigers in the 180-plus zoos accredited by the AZA. But there are an estimated 7,000 "pet" tigers in the United States, some confined in windowless basements, others relegated to makeshift backyard cages or used as guard animals in crack houses.
SOURCE:
PETA Wildlife Pimps
The Third Well |
~
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