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The first advertisement was placed by Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey shortly after an animal trainer employed by it was found not guilty of abusing one of its elephants.
"The truth is no one is more concerned with the well-being of animals than Ringling Brothers," the Circus claimed. "Our animal partners are healthy, well cared for, and content, and we know that because we have individual relationships with each and every one of them."
The PETA advertisements, which first appeared just before the start of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey’s 2002 tour, listed the animal advocacy organization’s specific objections to the Circus’ use of elephants and all other wildlife.
"The circus tried hard to deflect attention from its cruel training and handling methods, which include beating elephants with sharp, heavy bullhooks and digging the bullhooks into the most sensitive parts of their bodies," PETA claimed. "Also at issue: that elephants, who, in nature, roam miles each day, are kept cruelly shackled by chains, unable to move two steps, and even travel chained in cramped boxcars for up to 50 weeks a year."
In 1998, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey gave $20,000 to elephant-related organizations in order to settle charges brought by the United States Department of Agriculture after a fatally ill elephant that was made to perform before being examined by a veterinarian.
In April 2001, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other humane organizations sued the Circus in order to force it to change its training methods, but the suit was dismissed.
PETA is currently suing Kenneth Feld, the Producer and Chairman of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey, for allegedly hiring people to infiltrate its organization and spy on it. A similar suit brought by the Performing Animal Welfare Society was settled out of court.
© 2002 Animal News Center, Inc
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