Kategorie: Animals

After PETA alerted the city’s Animal Protection Unit to Garden Bros. Circus’ plans to perform with animals this weekend, officials confirmed that the circus will not be allowed to use animals. A city ordinance requires traveling animal exhibits to obtain a permit at least 30 days in advance.

“Successful circuses are switching to shows that feature only willing human performers, and that’s exactly what Garden Bros. will have to do in Norfolk,” says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Rachel Mathews. “Every city, country, and venue that rejects animal acts helps PETA push circuses toward an animal-free future.”

In 2018, Norfolk barred Garden Bros. from using elephants and didn’t allow it to use a horse with a swollen eye. The city also blocked the circus from using animals in 2017 and from using elephants in 2016.

In 2018, officials in Massachusetts prevented Garden Bros. from using an underweight horse in performances and officials in Missouri charged handlers for holding elephants, camels, and ponies on hot asphalt without shade. In a 2017 whistleblower complaint, a former Garden Bros. employee described frequently seeing elephants with blood dripping from behind their ears and reported that a handler beat, punched, and kicked a camel after a performance. A handler was also caught repeatedly whipping a llama.

In 2020, following years of PETA pressure, Garden Bros. stopped forcing elephants to perform, but it still exploits horses, dogs, and camels.

Numerous other venues and localities across the country—including in California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.—have canceled Garden Bros. shows or barred the circus from performing with animals.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

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With Medina Spirit—the horse who tested positive for a prohibited drug after “winning” the Kentucky Derby—scheduled to race in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, PETA is running an ad in tomorrow’s Baltimore Sun reminding bettors to hold all tickets, because trainers who swindle bettors by doping horses may have to pay up.

Last year, a bettor received a $20,000 settlement in a first-of-its-kind, PETA-supported lawsuit against a horse trainer and an owner for illegally drugging a horse before a harness race.

“Any trainer who dopes horses is not only abusing them but also risking a lawsuit,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. “PETA is alerting Preakness bettors that they should hang onto their tickets if they bet in person, especially after the Kentucky Derby debacle—they may end up taking horse abusers and cheaters to court.”

Performance-enhancing drugs often mask horses’ pain, allowing them to race and train with injuries that would otherwise be disabling. Illegal doping and the overuse of medication frequently lead to broken bones and death.

Trainer Bob Baffert, who is running Medina Spirit and another horse in the Preakness, has accrued 30 verified drug violations over his career, with five incidents in just the last year. His previous excuses for positive drug tests include arguing that poppy seed bagels were responsible for the morphine in a horse’s system. Pending a second drug test and an investigation, Medina Spirit may be disqualified from the Kentucky Derby.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

The post Drug Scandal Prompts PETA Preakness Ad: ‘Hold Your Tickets!’ appeared first on PETA.

A new PETA video released today shows the rescue of a little black cat named Wendy, who was returned to solid ground after spending four days clinging to life on a tree branch high above the ground. Unlike squirrels, who can rotate their ankles to descend, cats cannot come down backward or forward.

A concerned neighbor heard Wendy’s cries, but local authorities wouldn’t help—so she called PETA’s emergency hotline, and the group rushed an expert tree climber to the scene. He ascended the trunk and managed to save her at last, even though she was so terrified that she started to climb even higher up the tree and then switched to a different branch that required a separate climb.

Once she had recovered from her ordeal, PETA found a loving family to adopt her.

“One call from a concerned neighbor made all the difference for this little cat,” says PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “PETA hopes her dramatic rescue will inspire people to keep an eye out and always come to the aid of animals in need—whether by taking action themselves or by calling in a professional.”

PETA notes that cats who are allowed to roam outdoors can easily become stranded in trees or attacked by predators or cruel people—and they can become the predators themselves by killing songbirds and other small animals. “Outdoor cats” are also at risk of ingesting poisons and pesticides, contracting diseases from other animals, getting lost or hit by cars, and much more, which is why PETA urges guardians to keep cats indoors with a “catio” and give them lots of playtime and affection.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

The post Four Days at 60 Feet: PETA Video Shows Daring Cat Rescue appeared first on PETA.

Elephants never forget—but hopefully, these former Ringling captives are looking forward to bright futures in their new home at White Oak Conservation in Yulee, Florida. This heartwarming transition follows PETA’s successful takedown of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus—which routinely beat and chained elephants—and a hard-hitting exposé that revealed chaining, abuse, and rampant disease at Ringling Bros.’ falsely named Center for Elephant Conservation.

Upon arriving at the facility, the 12 captive-born female elephants—Angelica, April, Aree (now nicknamed Myrtle), Asha, Bonnie, Juliette, Kelly Ann, Luna, Mable, Piper, Sara, and Tonka—experienced a natural setting for the first time. They now have the opportunity to explore acres of open grasslands, venture through the woods, slosh around in the mud, bask in the sun, swim in the pond, socialize with others, and much more. PETA is breathing a sigh of relief to see these intelligent, emotional animals free from the circus at last.

The elephants are recovering with the help of veterinarians and animal-care specialists, but the harm that Ringling Bros. caused them isn’t going to heal overnight. Many—if not all—have a history of arthritis and foot or gait problems, which are caused by the harsh conditions of circus life—including prolonged chaining on hard surfaces, a lack of exercise, and being forced to perform difficult tricks. But things are looking up for them as they adjust to their new home.

Meet Angelica: The 23-Year-Old Angel

Angelica was forced to perform with Ringling until 2015. In 1999, when she was younger than 2 years old, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspector found large lesions on her legs—Ringling had forcefully separated Angelica from her mother, causing painful rope burns. Her new home will finally give her the opportunity to build meaningful, lasting relationships with others.

Meet Sara: The Sweet, Sensitive Girl Ringling Failed

In 2010, the USDA cited Ringling for failing to provide Sara, who suffered from chronic lameness, with proper veterinary care. Despite her ailments, Ringling trainers forced her to perform grueling tricks. In her new home, veterinary experts are closely monitoring her well-being.

PETA’s Work Paid Off—but There’s Still More Ahead

PETA is pleased that our work to end Ringling’s abuse was successful—the animal circus shut down after decades of PETA protests, investigations, and campaigns—but circuses everywhere are still exploiting elephants, tigers, and other individuals.

BREAKING: After 36 years of protests, #RinglingBros Circus will shut down in May. Thank you to all who spoke out! https://t.co/sE9GNgC8gx pic.twitter.com/iVOUu7L4Pr

— PETA (@peta) January 15, 2017

Animals don’t exist to perform in demeaning circus shows for human entertainment. It’s time to give all animals forced to perform in circuses the same happy outcome that Angelica, Sara, and the other elephants at White Oak Conservation are enjoying.

Urge Carden Circus to Nix Animal Acts

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