Dear :
I was very disappointed to see that [name of sponsor] is promoting
the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus. I urge you to stop promoting this cruel event immediately.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is a circus
known for its shocking record of animal treatment.
Ringling has been cited by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) for failure to provide veterinary
care to a dying baby elephant and failure to provide
animals with sufficient space and exercise. In less
than two years, two of Ringling's baby elephants died
horrifying deaths on the road, a caged tiger was shot
to death, a horse with a chronic medical condition
collapsed and died, and a wild-caught sea lion was
found dead in her transport container. In 1999, the
USDA warned Ringling that the circus had caused two
baby elephants "unnecessary trauma, behavioral stress,
and physical harm and discomfort," after inspectors
found painful rope burns caused by separating the
infant animals from their mothers. Last year, the
USDA cited Ringling for a failure to provide
veterinary care to an elephant who had been diagnosed
with a human strain of tuberculosis and for failure to
maintain its tiger enclosures after two tigers injured
themselves while desperately trying to claw their way
out of overheated cages to avoid being baked alive.
Ringling has opposed regulations that would limit the
amount of time that elephants can be chained, prohibit
the use of electric shock, and forbid using bullhooks
in a manner that causes injury.
A recent undercover video footage shows the ways
elephants live their lives as part of the Ringling
Bros. circus. The video shows elephants chained
closely to the wall with no freedom to move around and
no visible access to food or water, in a tiny indoor
room, swaying from side to side (a known reaction to
stress). Also visible are very unprofessional-acting
employees hitting elephants repeatedly with bullhooks,
usually for no apparent reason or for the amusement of
themselves and their coworkers.
Animals in circuses lead miserable lives. They cannot
satisfy even the most natural behaviors. This leads
to extreme stress, which manifests itself in abnormal
behaviors such as constant pacing, tail biting, eating
excrement, bar chewing, and constant wobbling. These
animals spend the majority of their lives on the road,
cramped in cages or pens, and get very little exercise.
Wild animals do not give up their natural behaviors
easily. The training involves tight collars, electric prods,
bullhooks, whips as well as water and food depravation.
In addition, performing wild animals pose a real threat to public
safety, precisely because they are wild and therefore unpredictable.
No amount of training or affection can eliminate this danger.
I sincerely hope that [name of sponsor] will
reconsider its association with Ringling Bros. circus.
Please, for the sake of the animals and the safety of
the public, implement a formal policy against the use
of animal acts as promotions, and schedule only
cruelty-free events.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
Sincerely,
Back
