Peru has banned wild animals in circuses

Last night, President Alan Garcia signed into law an end to the use of wild animals in circuses, following an investigation of circus animal suffering and a long campaign by Animal Defenders International (ADI) and local animal protection groups in the region.

With this ban, Peru is the second country in South America to take national steps to stop the suffering of animals in circuses, following the ban in Bolivia.
Other countries considering similar moves are the UK, Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia.

ADI Chief Executive Jan Creamer said:  "We are absolutely delighted and applaud this bold move by President Garcia and the Congress of Peru. With the ban in Bolivia and the current discussions in Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia, there is no doubt that South America is leading the world on this issue.

"Peru has looked at the evidence, the undercover investigations, the scientific reports and seen the suffering of the animals. The people of Peru have been adamant in their support of a ban, and both the Congress and President have listened."

Representatives Alexander Rebaza (APRA) and Jose Urquizo (Gana Peru) introduced the bill and have championed it throughout the legislative process. Congressman Urquizo invites parliamentarians from all countries to follow the example of Peru and ban wild animals in circuses, ending the suffering of animals.  Congressman Urquizo said: "that will make us a more modern and civilized society".

The ADI investigation exposed terrible suffering of animals in circuses, including lions whipped and beaten, monkeys, bears and other animals kept in deprived and appalling conditions.

Jan said: "ADI will continue to work with the Government of Peru in the preparation of regulations to implement the law."

In February 2011, ADI completed an enforcement operation with the Bolivian authorities and removed every single animal from circuses in Bolivia. 29 lions were moved from Bolivia to the United States.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
Media Contact:
Phil Buckley, Media Relations Director, Animal Defenders International, 07716 018250, 0207 630 3344, prdesk@ad-international.org>
Peru becomes the second country in South America to ban the use of animals in circuses, following Bolivia.  Similar measures have been under discussion in Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador.  Other countries with similar legislation include Austria, Costa Rica, Sweden, Finland, Singapore and Denmark.www.ad-international.org>www.peruanimalista.com
www.detenercircosconanimales.com>

ADI collaborated with local groups in Peru, My Animal Awareness. Amazon Shelter, UPA, Vida Digna, LOVE and ASPPA.

Reps. Alexander Rebaza (APRA) and Jose Urquizo (Gana Peru) introduced the bill 1917 / 2382 in 2007. In 2009 Peru's Land Commission and Commission of Andean, Amazonian, Afro Peruvian, Environment and Ecology adopted the majority opinion supporting a ban. Member of Congress Jose Alejandro Rebaza Urquizo initially presented the ban on the use of animals in circuses as a separate bill. The two versions of the bill were joined and adopted by the Land Commission and Commission of the Andean, but did not end the debate in plenary for approval.  Therefore, the Land Commission decided to include the ban as a final disposition within the Forestry and Wildlife.

The first final provision states: "It is prohibited to display and use specimens of wildlife, native and exotic in traveling circuses."

The bill was signed by President Alan Garcia last night (21 July 2011).

Since June 2010 the bill has been on the agenda prioritized plenary debates of the Congress of Peru.

The ADI report on animal suffering in circuses in South America is at:http://www.ad-international.org/admin/downloads/Spanish_new_low-res.pdf

Findings of the investigation include:
Lions being pulled by the tail, whipped and beaten.

A capuchin monkey, three lionesses and a lion kept in a compartment of a truck of and an ocelot living in a wooden box. Three bears were kept in three compartments of a truck, their only exercise was walking to and from the ring for the performance.


Phil Buckley
Media Relations Director
Animal Defenders International
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London SW1P 4QP, UK.
Tel.  +44 (0)20 7630 3340
Fax.  +44 (0)20 7828 2179

Cutting Edge Not Knife Edge
http://www.navs.org.uk
New legislation on animal experiments: Please call on the Home Office to support the NAVS' 10 key steps to keep the UK at the forefront of the development of advanced scientific techniques to replace outdated and unreliable animal tests.

www.navs.org.uk
www.ad-international.org
www.YouTube.com/AnimalDefenders
www.CafePress.com/AnimalDefenders

Indian officials order elephants out of zoos, circuses

Animal rights advocates are heralding the decision, announced this
month by officials with India's Central Zoo Authority, that the
country's zoos and circuses will no longer be allowed to keep captive
elephants.

The decision means that all elephants living in India's zoos and
circuses -- an estimated 140 pachyderms in 26 zoos and 16 circuses --
will be moved to "elephant camps" run by the nation's forestry
department. (Those elephants currently employed in logging camps or
living in Indian temples -- by all accounts, a larger number than
those in zoos and circuses -- are unaffected by the decision.) In the
camps, the elephants will be able to move freely in a large space and
graze as they would in the wild. A group of mahouts will be employed
to monitor their well-being.

--
full story:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/11/elephants-sanctuary-india.html

Brazil takes a step closer to a full ban on animals in circuses

PRESS RELEASE - 18 November 2009 Brazil takes a step closer to a full ban on animals in circuses Progress towards a Brazilian ban on animals in travelling circuses took another step forward today as Bill No. 7291 was passed in the Commission for Constitution, Justice and Citizenship of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies. Animal Defenders International (ADI) welcomes the law's progress which entered the Commission in August 2009. Deputy Ricardo Tripoli, who championed the law, defended its conformity with the Brazilian Constitution. He argued that circuses are cruel to animals and that, in fact, the use of animals is even contrary to the Constitution. ADI applauds the members of the Commission for Constitution, Justice and Citizenship for its unanimous vote in favour of Mr. Ricardo Tripoli's report. ADI has been lobbying hard at all stages of the process as part of the Stop Circus Suffering campaign in Brazil. The bill proposes a ban on the use of both wild and domestic animals in circus shows, and has now gone through all the relevant commissions in the Chamber of Deputies. It can now progress to the Plenary vote, before returning to the Senate. ADI has studied the use of animals in travelling circuses for many years; and have compiled a wealth of evidence, film footage and photographs, taken by undercover officers worldwide for its global 'Stop Circus Suffering' campaign. These investigations have shown that that the travelling and temporary nature of a circus means that even with the best will in the world, circuses cannot provide animals with adequate facilities to keep them physically or psychologically healthy. Welfare is always compromised. ADI's Stop Circus Suffering Campaign Brazil was launched in 2008 in conjunction with Brazilian animal protection groups and with the backing of cruelty-free cosmetics company Surya. Earlier this year, Bolivia banned the use of all animals in circuses, and a similar debate is currently being held in the Peruvian Congress, soon to be discussed in the full parliament. Helder Constantino, ADI Head of Parliamentary Affairs, said: "We are delighted that this law is continuing to progress through the Brazilian Parliament. A ban in Brazil would have a huge impact on the circus industry in South America and would be the largest ever loss of territory to the circus industry. We are now calling on the members of the Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies to act decisively to ban all animals in travelling circuses in Brazil." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ends NOTES FOR EDITORS For further information, contact:Amanda Gent, ADI Press Office, Tel: 020 7630 3340, Mob: 07785 552548Email: prdesk@ad-international.org About Animal Defenders International:Animal Defenders International exists to educate, create awareness and alleviate the suffering of animals and works to protect wildlife and the environment through offices in London, San Francisco and Bogota. The ADI Stop Circus Suffering campaign has now been launched throughout Europe, South America and the USA. Recently, the campaign secured a ban on the use of all animals in travelling circuses in Bolivia, with similar measures currently before the parliaments of Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. Measures on the prohibition of certain species, such as wild animals, are currently being considered in the UK and Norway. http://www.ad-international.org/ For all media enquiries contact: prdesk@ad-international.org Media only, pleaseTo make a donation: info@ad-international.org or online http://www.ad-international.org/take_action/donate.phpFor campaign information: info@ad-international.org For employment opportunities: execassist@ad-international.org For volunteer enquiries: execassist@ad-international.org For Intern enquiries: intern@ad-international.org General enquiries: info@ad-international.org

ADI Action alert - URGENT: Help us Stop Circus Suffering

Contact your MP TODAY and ensure that they sign EDM 2179!
Animal Welfare in Circuses

Early Day Motion (EDM) 2179 tabled by Mark Pritchard MP is currently
before the UK Parliament and calls for the Government to implement
legislation to protect wild animals in circuses.

The MP for The Wrekin, Shropshire, was shocked by the findings of a
recent undercover investigation by Animal Defenders International which
showed circus elephant abuse and was prompted to table an Early Day
Motion to exert pressure on the Government to stop animals suffering.

Earlier this year ADI secretly filmed the Great British Circus and
witnessed a high level of casual violence and severe confinement of the
animals.

Over three years ago Minister Ben Bradshaw promised to ban wild animals
in circuses, but lions, tigers, bears and even elephants are still
allowed to tour the UK.

The EDM already has over 40 signatures but we need many more so we
urgently need your help to make animals in circuses history!

Please write immediately to your Member of Parliament at the House of
Commons, London, SW1A 0AA urging them to sign EDM 2179.

To find out who your MP is and whether they have signed the EDM please
visit:
http://www.ad-international.org/animals_in_entertainment/go.php?id=1250& si=1&ssi=10


Time is ticking - it is vital that you contact your MP as soon as
possible.

EDM 2179 states

That this House notes with concern that current legislation fails to
protect wild animals in circuses; is appalled that this had led to
serious abuse such as the one revealed by Animal Defenders
International's investigation in the Great British Circus, which shows
violence against and the confinement of elephants; reminds the
Government that it has repeatedly committed itself before this House to
ban certain species of wild animals in circuses; further notes with
disappointment that no substantial proposal has been yet made by the
Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; and once again
urges the Government to maintain its commitment to ban the use of wild
species in travelling circuses, and to restrict and limit the use of
domesticated species under a strict, accountable and open licensing
system.


For all media enquiries contact: prdesk@ad-international.org
Media
only, please
To make a donation: info@ad-international.org

For campaign information: info@ad-international.org

For employment opportunities: execassist@ad-international.org

For volunteer enquiries: execassist@ad-international.org

For Intern enquiries: intern@ad-international.org

General enquiries: info@ad-international.org

Bolivian circus lions await new life in U.S. sanctuary

COCHABAMBA, Bolivia (Reuters Life!) - After growing up in a Bolivian circus and being confined to a small cage, Simba the lion is getting in touch with his wild side in preparation for a new life in a big U.S. wildlife sanctuary.

The three-year-old feline, who weighs about 440 pounds, is one of the first animals to benefit from a new Bolivian law that defines the use of circus animals as "an act of cruelty."

Turned over to an animal rights group by his former circus trainer, Simba is living in a temporary home in a public park in the central Bolivian city of Cochabamba, waiting for veterinary clearance to be sent to the United States.

With him, and also waiting for travel permits, are his mother, Maiza, and his brothers, Gordo, Daktar and Camba, as well as a monkey, Tilin.

The animals' new handlers are trying to put them back in touch with their instincts and undoing their habits of performing and being afraid of humans, said Enrique Mendizabal, a veterinarian with the Bolivian branch of Animal Defenders International, a British-American group that campaigns around the world for circus animal rights.

Bolivia is the only country in the world to have banned both wild and domestic animals in circuses. Other countries, including Austria and Costa Rica have banned wild animals, but not domestic ones, according to the London office of Animal Defenders International.

A UNIQUE LAW

"Law No. 4040 is the only one (of its kind) in the world because it doesn't just prohibit the use of wild animals, but also dogs, cats, doves and all types of domestic animals," Congresswoman Ximena Flores told Reuters.

"No matter the animal, circus workers always use violence to train them."

Flores sponsored the law, which passed in July, and that gives circus owners in Bolivia until July 2010 to take animals out of their acts. Those that don't will face fines.

Simba and his family and the monkey were turned over before the deadline, by a circus animal trainer who had fallen ill and could no longer care for them.

While animal rights groups are in favor of the law, some worry about the logistics of what will happen to the 50 or so wild animals that currently live at circuses.

The few zoos in Bolivia, the poorest country in South America, are severely underfunded and animals are often kept in small, unclean cages.

"We just launched a campaign, 'For Those That Remain,' in which we're collecting funds to build a quarantine in La Paz that would be able to receive those animals," said Susana Del Carpio, director of the Animals S.O.S. rights group.

Full article:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE59S53W20091029?sp=true

Bolivia's Freed Circus Animals Need Homes

"Lions hate circuses" has long been a bumper sticker slogan of the animal rights movement, and Bolivia has heard the message: The left-leaning government of the Andean country recently passed the world's first legislation prohibiting the use of all animals in circuses. That's a huge victory for the London-based organization Animal Defenders International (ADI), which agitated for the ban. But it has left the organization, and others like it, facing the challenge of finding homes for 22 lions and a few primates, who will be euthanized if none are available.


ADI staff spent two years undercover working inside Bolivia's circuses documenting animal abuse, which included pregnant lions being forced to jump through fire and brown bears being kept in 6' x 9' cages. A handful of countries, including Israel and Costa Rica, prohibit the use of wild animals as performers, but Bolivia is the first to extend the ban to all animals, including domestic species like dogs, horses and llamas. "We are extremely proud," says Bolivian Congresswoman Ximena Flores, the law's main proponent.
(See photos of the forensics lab mentioned in Neme's book.)
Full article:http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1932343,00.html

Animal protection ordinance in place while circus is in town

MARY ESTHER — The circus is in town, but not everyone is happy to see it.

The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida recently contacted Mary Esther
City Attorney Bruce Bowman to ask the city to enforce its ordinance
preventing circuses from forcing animals to perform by causing them
pain.

Don Anthony, spokesman for the Animal Rights Foundation, said the
circus has a history of using bullhooks, a sharp metal hook at the end
of a long handle, to apply pressure on sensitive spots on an
elephant’s body to get it to perform.

--
full story:
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/ordinance-21921-animal-place.html

Beginning of the end of animal circuses in Portugal - Please take action!

Government established laws in Portugal which
immediately ban the use of great apes in circuses and lay grounds for the end
of the use of wild animals in circuses – Please congratulate the
Portuguese Government for taking this step and please ask the European
Commission to support the EU member states, such as Portugal and Austria, which
took measures to end the use of animals in circuses and also to have the EU
following their example

Following
years of education, awareness-raising, campaigning and lobbying work carried
out by ANIMAL, it finally happened. Since September 3rd, based
on a new law-decree established by the Portuguese Government, circuses
operating in Portugal can no longer keep or use great apes – chimpanzees,
gorillas, orangutans and bonobos. The use of these animals is also forbidden in
any other spectacles.

As from
yesterday, another legislative decision of the Portuguese Government went
further: it banned the keeping and use of wild animals in circuses, such as
elephants, rhinos, hippos, lions, tigers, bears, primates, reptiles, ostriches,
among others. However, there is a regrettable exception: the wild animals that
the Portuguese circuses already legally held when this new bill came into force
(yesterday) will still be allowed to be kept and used in circus shows, but the
circus companies are now legally forced to prevent those animals from breeding
and can no longer acquire any new wild animals. The circuses have, as from
yesterday, 90 days to register all their wild animals with the Portuguese CITES
authority – and those will be the only wild animals that they will ever
again be allowed to keep and use. This new bill means that the renovation of
the populations of animals kept and used in Portuguese circuses is banned.

While Portuguese circuses are now extremely nervous, saying that this means the end
of circuses, and have joined the European Circus Association in making
preparations to file a law suit with the European Commission against the
Portuguese State, alleging that this new law infringes the article 49 of the
European Treaty, supposedly violating the free internal market of the EU, ANIMAL has congratulated the Portuguese Government for taking these measures and has
only regretted that these will not affect the wild animals (aside from the
great apes) which are already kept in circuses and it has also regretted that
these legislative measures leave domesticated animals away from its
application. That is why ANIMAL will continue to call the Portuguese
Parliament to take these measures one step further, by totally and immediately
banning the keeping and use of both wild and domesticated animals in circuses.

In the meanwhile, ANIMAL needs your help to ensure that, now that the Portuguese and
European circus lobby will react against this with everything it has, the Portuguese
Government will stand by these legislative measures and that the European
Commission will not only respect the Portuguese State decision of outlawing the
keeping and use of wild animals in circuses, but will also recognize it as a
good example for the EU to follow, along with the one that Austria had already
established when it banned the keeping and use of wild animals in circuses:

· Please send the suggested message below – or write your own message, if you
prefer – to the President of the European Commission and to the European
Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services, urging them to respect,
support and recognize as positive and a good example for the EU to follow the
legislative measures took by the Portuguese Government. Please copy Portugal´s
Prime Minister, the Minister of the Environment and the President of the
Portuguese CITES Authority into the message, so that they know that you are
supporting the steps that they took to end the use of wild animals in circuses.
Please send your message to: Jose-Manuel. BARROSO@cec.eu.int
Charlie.Mc-Creevy@cec.eu.int
Copying (Cc) pm@pm.gov.pt
gmaotdr@maotdr.gov.pt
icnb@icnb.pt
campanhas@animal.org.pt
into the message.

· ANIMAL also needs another type of help from you to be able to carry on campaigning to
abolish animal circuses and bullfighting and to forward animal protection in
Portugal with your support – Please make as generous a donation as you can TODAY to help ANIMAL: Use PayPal to make
asafe and easy internet payment– please go to http://www.PayPal.com/
and make a donation to info@animal.org.pt Or make a bank transferto the following account: ANIMAL – Associação Nortenha de Intervenção no Mundo
AnimaL – Montepio Geral (Caixa Económica) – IBAN: PT50 0036 0093
9910 0034 4746 9 – BIC/SWIFT: MPIOPTPL Or make a regular donation by cheque or money orderand posting it to us at: ANIMAL, Apartado 24140,
1251-997 Lisboa, Portugal.

Suggested Message

Dear Mr. President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso
Dear Commissioner McCreevy, European Commissioner for the Internal Market and
Services

CC
to:

The Prime-Minister of Portugal, Mr. José Sócrates
The Minister of Environment of Portugal, Mr. Francisco Nunes Correia
The President of the ICNB Portugal CITES Authority, Mr. Tito Rosa

Excellencies,

I am writing this message to express my fullest support to the Portuguese Government
new enacted laws which immediately ban the keeping and use of great apes in
circuses and which immediately ban the breeding and acquisition of new wild
animals by circus companies operating in Portugal, allowing them only to keep
the wild animals that they already lawfully held at the time of the coming into
force of such laws. In fact, to be more accurate, I deeply regret that the
Portuguese Government did not go further, banning the keeping and use of the
very wild animals that circuses in Portugal already hold, as well as the
keeping and use of domesticated animals, which also suffer tremendously in
circuses and should not be kept or used in such deplorable spectacles. However,
I look at these legislative measures of the Portuguese Government as very
positive and praiseworthy signs of concern for the plight of animals used in
circuses, particularly of wild animals, and so I wish to express my gratitude for
the taking of such legislative steps.

I have in the meanwhile learned that, as they have done when Austria courageously banned
the keeping and use of wild animals in circuses, the European Circus
Association (ECA), which represents the circus lobby in the EU, has threatened
to take legal action against the Portuguese State for outlawing the keeping and
use of wild animals in circuses in the terms above mentioned. The ECA argues,
once again, as it has done with the Austrian case, that such a ban infringes
the article 49 of the European Treaty, supposedly violating the rules of the
free common market. However, I believe it does not, as no circus is banned from
performing in Austria or in Portugal – they are only banned from using
great apes and from breeding or acquiring by other means new wild animals, in
Portugal, and from using wild animals in Austria, but circuses are free –
and, furthermore, encouraged – to perform with human artists – who,
unlike animals, perform willingly – wherever they want in the EU. No
animal protection organisation, and certainly not the Portuguese Government or
the Austrian State, oppose or seek to outlaw the circus activity as a whole –
the point is only to end something that is objectively and necessarily cruel,
wrong and a sad and degrading anachronism: the bizarre, absurd and totally
unethical use of animals in circuses, where they should no longer be and where
they should never have been kept in the first place.

I therefore urge the European Commission to stand by the legislative steps that
both the Portuguese and Austrian states have taken against the keeping and use
of wild animals in circuses and I furthermore urge the European Commission to,
together with the European Council and with the European Parliament, take a
joint legislative action to completely outlaw the keeping and use of both wild
and domesticated animals in circuses, while respecting and protecting solely
all the respectable and admirable circus arts which involve human artists
alone.

I also wish to reiterate my support to the Portuguese and to the Austrian states for taking
such steps to protect wild animals and I can only urge them to extend these
measures to domesticated animals as well. Bolivia has banned the keeping and
use of both wild and domesticated animals, several states and municipalities in
Brazil have done the same, while Costa
Rica, Croatia, Israel and Singapore have complete bans on the use of wild animals
in circuses. Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, India and Sweden have banned the
use of certain wild animal species in circuses, while Belgium, Estonia, Hungary
and Poland have also enforced some restrictions of the use of wild animals in
circuses. It is now time for the European Union to take the lead in this matter
by completely outlawing the keeping and use of domesticated and wild animals in
circuses. As an European citizen, I wish no less than that in this field.

Looking forward for your reply and thanking you in anticipation for your attention,
Yours, respectfully,

[Name]
[City,
Country]
[E-mail
address]


Animal.org.pt: :
No More Crimes Without Punishment

Please, do not keep this message only for yourself:please
forward it to others who you think may also care about the plight of animals in
Portugal and who may also want to help

If you want to start receiving ANIMAL´s e-Newsletters, please send a message saying
Subscribe
to miguel.moutinho@animal.org.pt

Act Now for Queenie

Please make a phone call or send a fax by Wednesday!

(September 8, 2009 update) - It has been 19 days since the USDA confiscated Jewel and Tina, but left Queenie (aka Boo) behind in Leggett, Texas in the hands of the incompetent Will Davenport, who has gravely endangered the health of all three elephants. With each day that passes, IDA is more concerned about Queenie's welfare as she remains at the mercy of a man who has shown repeatedly that he is incapable of providing her with proper and humane care.

This video contains heartbreaking and disturbing footage of Queenie, chained to a tree in Texas, swaying neurotically behind Will Davenport after the truck carrying Tina and Jewel to the San Diego Zoo had pulled away. (The video, made by Davenport's friends in Polk County, contains many untruths, but does provide some interesting footage of the elephant confiscation.)

Even if you have already called the USDA, please take a moment by Wednesday to leave a telephone message for the Secretary of Agriculture and email the Administrator of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to urge the agency to return to Leggett immediately for Queenie and send her to a sanctuary where her safety and well-being can be assured. It's very important to contact both USDA officials.






Tell the USDA:

It is inconceivable that the agency would leave Queenie in the "care" of Davenport, who has racked up countless Animal Welfare Act violations since receiving his USDA exhibitor's license just two years ago.

The many outstanding legal issues regarding Will Davenport's conduct (including his defiance of a federal order during USDA's first confiscation attempt on August 15) provide a clear avenue for them to help Queenie.

You hold the agency directly responsible for Queenie's welfare. After all she has been through, Queenie must be retired from public display and sent to either the PAWS sanctuary in California or The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. Since Queenie has no pressing health issues requiring intensive veterinary care, she can go immediately to a sanctuary. There is no excuse for sending her to a zoo.
Note: Do not allow the USDA to tell you that they have no jurisdiction over Queenie's care since Davenport voluntarily surrendered his USDA license - the agency has plenty of legal avenues to pursue to bring Davenport to justice and secure Queenie's rescue.

USDA Contact Information:

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
Phone: 202 720-3631, Fax: 202-720-2166

Acting APHIS Administrator Kevin Shea
Phone: 202-720-3861 Email: Kevin.A.Shea@usda.gov

Contact Congress Too!

As your Congressperson and Senators to contact Secretary Vilsack in support of Queenie's rescue and transfer to a sanctuary. If they have been responsive in the past, be sure to thank them for their previous help in securing Tina and Jewel’s confiscation, but let them know that Queenie has been left behind in dire circumstances.

Find your federal representatives here.

Please continue to call and email these officials until Queenie is safely housed at the PAWS sanctuary in California or The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

Background on Queenie

Queenie is an Asian elephant who is estimated to be 52 years of age. She has been "owned" by the Davenport family for at least two decades and has been trucked around the country and forced to perform in circuses and to give elephant rides for years. In 2006, an undercover investigator for Animal Defenders International videotaped Queenie (also known as Boo) and another elephant named Chrissy being abused by Mike Swain, an employee of the Bailey Brothers Circus, a Davenport family operation.

In March 2007, USDA inspectors documented the continued abuse of Queenie, who was found in poor condition at a fairgrounds in Pueblo, Colorado. The inspection report from that time states:

"[The elephant has] excessive dead skin over most of her body and doesn’t show evidence of proper bathing for quite some time. She has urine staining and what appears to be urine scalds on her back legs. The pads on this elephant had excessive growth and there were numerous flaps of skin that had trapped debris in them. The cuticles were also excessively long."

Queenie also had "multiple wounds draining yellowish exudates inside the left ear" . . consistent with the improper use of an ankus in the ear."

The handler was "not properly trained or experienced." "[He] had to continuously rely on excessive and inappropriate use of the ankus to get the elephant to perform the behaviors he was asking for during the rides and performances. . . during the rides and performances, the handler was observed repeatedly jabbing and hitting the elephant with the ankus. Several times during the elephant ride, the handler used the ankus to hit the elephant and she reacted by throwing her head and changing her gait demonstrating irritation at the action of the handler. . . This is inappropriate and abusive use of the ankus and such use is likely to cause trauma, behavioral stress, physical harm or unnecessary discomfort . . . " (Emphasis added).

Queenie must not be left at the Davenports’ mercy. Ask USDA to act promptly to send her to a sanctuary!

For more information, please see http://www.helpelephants.com/tina_jewel_and_queenie.html

In Defense of Animals, located in San Rafael, Calif., is an international animal protection organization with more than 85,000 members and supporters dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by protecting their rights and welfare. IDA's efforts include educational events, cruelty investigations, boycotts, grassroots activism, and hands-on rescue through our sanctuaries in Mississippi, Mumbai, India, and Cameroon, Africa.

In Defense of Animals is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We welcome your feedback and appreciate your donations. Please join today! All donations to IDA are tax-deductible.

In Defense of Animals
3010 Kerner, San Rafael, CA 94901
Tel. (415) 448-0048 Fax (415) 454-1031
idainfo@idausa.org

Undercover investigation of elephant abuse

Our undercover investigation of the elephant abuse at Great British Circus is breaking today. Our field officers concealed a camera in the elephant tent and secured footage of elephants being hit in the face, jabbed with pitchforks, and a horrible incident where a tail is twisted.

Jan has just been interviewed on ITN news which will be broadcast in 30 minutes and I’ve just been interviewed by BBC News London – plus more coverage below.

If anyone can do links from their sites – especially to our YouTube video of the exposé or home page, that would be great.

Here’s how Sky have reported the story today (plus short reports every 30 minutes)

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/video/Circus-Elephants-Mistreated-Says-Animal-Defenders-International/Video/200908315364674?
lid=VIDEO_15364674_CircusElephantsMistreatedSaysAnimalDefendersInternational&lpos=searchresults

Here’s our video on You tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpgwLRO2XUY&feature=channel_page


Here’s the initial release:
http://www.ad-international.org/media_centre/go.php?id=1623&si=12


Feature in the Daily Express
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/121291/Beaten-and-hit-with-hooks-cruel-fate-of-our-circus-elephants


It’ll be a busy day today!





"How smart does a chimp have to be before killing him constitutes murder"' - Carl Sagan. Visit Coalettes Connection for Action at www.ccforaction.com to extend your compassion by helping nonhuman animals today. Commission art work of your companion animal or favorite wildlife. Visit www.carloscornejoart.com

Call to ban circus animals after keeper is filmed hitting elephants

A cruel circus keeper is secretly filmed hitting an elephant in the face in footage that has outraged animal rights campaigner

They say their investigation found elephants kept by the Great British Circus were beaten, chained up and sometimes confined to their transport vehicles for 11 hours a day.

Jan Creamer, of Animal Defenders International, said the film showed why the Government should ban circuses from using wild animals.

She added: "In the name of entertainment, these elephants are beaten, jabbed with hooks, chained up for hours every day, and pushed into a metal box where they remain for hours on end while the circus moves to another site.

"Given the constant travel, temporary accommodation and small spaces, the use of these animals in circuses cannot be justified.

"The public wants to see a ban, Parliament wants a ban, animal protection groups want a ban.

Surely it is time for the Government to stop this suffering right now?"

The Great British Circus, which has two Asian elephants and two African, said a keeper who hit the animals was instantly sacked.

Spokesman Chris Barltrop said the behaviour had been "insupportable and completely wrong."

But he insisted the circus's elephants spent only about three hours a fortnight in their transporters and the rest of the time had "roomy accommodation" including a stables tent and paddock.

He added: "The circus is valuable culturally and people derive benefit and pleasure from seeing animals working with people in harmony."

The Department for Environment said the use of wild animals in circuses was being examined.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/08/20/chained-and-beaten-115875-21609924/


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Beaten and hit with hooks, cruel fate of our circus elephants

Shocking images of circus elephants being beaten sparked fresh calls yesterday for a ban on wild animals in the Big Top.

An undercover video shot by Animal Defenders International shows three elephants crying out after being hit on the head with a big metal hook, a broom and a pitchfork.

A circus worker is also seen twisting an elephant's tail.

The animals, part of the Great British Circus, were said to be left chained up for 11 hours at a time.
It is also claimed that when the circus moved five miles from Watford to Bushey the elephants were kept in a trailer for more than seven hours.

In the film, an African elephant called Sonja, born in the wild but bought after her mother was shot in a cull, shows the classic signs of mental disturbance - including rocking, swaying and head bobbing - which are often seen in animals held in captivity.

ADI, which used a hidden camera to make the film, claims it witnessed "a staggeringly high level of casual violence" in just a few days at the circus.

The pressure group's chief executive Jan Creamer said: "In the name of entertainment these elephants are beaten, jabbed with hooks, chained up for hours a day and pushed into a metal box each week where they remain for hours on end while the circus moves.

"This is an indictment of the circus industry and also the Government, who have failed to fulfil their commitment to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses. This investigation shows how animals like elephants suffer in the circus.

"The public wants a ban, Parliament wants a ban, animal protection groups want a ban. Surely it is time for the Government to take action to stop this suffering right now."

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/121291/Beaten-and-hit-with-hooks-cruel-fate-of-our-circus-elephants


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Animal Defenders International
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tel. +44 (0)20 7630 3340
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Please sign our petition to replace animal testing in Europe
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Circus worker sacked in Animal Defenders International abuse scandal

Secret video exposes UK circus elephant suffering



Animal Defenders International (ADI) today released shocking footage
from behind the scenes at the Great British Circus, showing violence and
confinement of circus elephants, resulting in an elephant keeper being
sacked.



The results of an undercover investigation by ADI shows the animals
being hit in the face, being kept chained and barely able to move for up
to 11 hours a day, and displaying disturbed, abnormal behaviour.



Responding to ADI accusations, the circus has admitted for the first
time ever that they use negative reinforcement to control the animals.
Though they have sacked one of the workers, the circus has still failed
to address the issues of the elephant trainer abusing the animals or the
confinement. In addition, the presenter, who on the video hits an
elephant in the face and uses a hook on the animals, remains with the
circus. The circus has also failed to address the fact that the
elephants are chained for up to eleven hours every day.



Watch the disturbing video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpgwLRO2XUY&feature=channel_page

The circus, which has been touring the UK since February 2009, features
two Asian and one African elephant. Despite the Government's 2006
promise to ban "certain non-domesticated animals" from travelling
circuses, Defra (Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
allowed the elephants, Sonja, Vana Mana and Delhi, to be brought into
the country by the Great British Circus to tour this year, signalling a
major backward step for circus animal protection.



ADI secured footage from a camera concealed inside the elephant tent of
the Great British Circus, which shows a staggeringly high level of
casual violence in just a few days of observations. Incidences include
elephants being hit in the face with a metal elephant hook, a broom and
a pitchfork, a worker cruelly twisting an elephant's tail, and the
frightened animals retreating and crying out when struck or hooked.



Jan Creamer, ADI Chief Executive, said: "This is not about one bad
apple. This is about a culture of violence and confinement. In the
name of entertainment these elephants are beaten, jabbed with hooks,
chained up for hours every day, and pushed into a metal box each week
where they remain for hours on end whilst the circus moves to another
site."



"The circus themselves have admitted that they use negative
reinforcement which shows that violence towards animals is a part of the
life of a circus. This is simply unacceptable and it is the fault of
the Government who have failed to fulfil their commitment to ban the use
of wild animals in travelling circuses, ignoring the evidence and the
recommendations of all major animal welfare groups. It is time for the
Government to act decisively and end this suffering once and for all."



The ADI team filmed two elephant hooks being brutally used, a long metal
hook was used to hit an elephant across the face during training and a
smaller one which was concealed in the palm of the hand and used in the
ring, unseen by the unsuspecting audience. ADI footage in slow motion
shows how the hook was used on the elephants as they performed and other
film shows the elephants reacting and sometimes crying out when the hook
is used.



In addition to the casual violence, the elephants were also limited for
long periods of the day in a small tent and chained tightly every night
for up to eleven hours with only enough room to take one step forward or
backwards.



When the circus moved to a new location, the elephants were confined to
their cramped transporter and forced to wait until their tent was
erected, resulting in many hours being shut away. During the move from
Watford to Bushey on 19 July, the elephants were kept inside the
transporters for seven and a half hours -though the distance travelled
was just five and a half miles.



ADI is also horrified at the level of disturbed, abnormal behaviour
exhibited by the elephants such as rocking, swaying and head bobbing.
These pointless, repetitive movements often seen in certain captive
animals is known as stereotypic behaviour. Sonja, a wild-caught African
elephant, was observed for 11 hours and spent nearly 40% of this time
displaying stereotypic behaviour, and the two Asian elephants also
showed similar movements. Animal behaviourists believe that this shows
that the animal is suffering and is not able to cope with its situation.




Over 80% of the public want to see a ban on wild animals in travelling
circuses and over 80 MPs signed a motion calling on the Government to
ban wild animal acts and to strictly regulate the use of domesticated
species. However, the Government has still failed to keep its pledge to
ban certain animals from circuses.



Jan Creamer continued: "This latest ADI investigation shows how animals
like elephants suffer in the travelling circus. Given the circumstances
of constant travel, temporary accommodation and small spaces, the use of
these animals in circuses cannot be justified. The public wants to see
a ban, Parliament wants a ban, animal protection groups want a ban.
Surely, it is time for the Government to take action to stop this
suffering right now."



Ends

_______________________________________________________________________



NOTES FOR EDITORS



For further information, footage and images, contact ADI Press office

Amanda Gent

Office Tel: 020 7630 3340

Mobile: 07785 552548

Email: pr@ad-international.org




The scientific report 'Animals in Travelling Circuses: The Science on
Suffering' can be downloaded here:

http://www.ad-international.org/admin/downloads/SCS_US_rep_FINAL_Jun%2015%2008_LOW%20RES.pdf






The full-length video of Stop Circus Suffering - UK is available here:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVsuGOpvUxc&feature=PlayList&p=B9BB7235F3CF0235&index=1





Findings from an ADI Mori Poll in the UK in 2005 include:

80% say ban all wild animal circus acts and 65% say ban all animal
circus acts.
90% against whipping and beating when training circus animals.



In 2006, Ben Bradshaw, then minister for animal welfare at Defra,
announced: "I sympathise with the view that performances by some wild
animals in travelling circuses are not compatible with meeting their
welfare needs. ... To provide this clarity I intend to use a regulation
under clause 10 of the Animal Welfare Bill to ban the use in travelling
circuses of certain nondomesticated species whose welfare needs cannot
be satisfactorily met in that environment."



According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (2008):

the Asian elephant is listed as 'endangered'
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/7140


the African elephant is listed as 'near threatened'
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/12392


.

Animal Defenders International (ADI)

With offices in London, San Francisco and Bogota, Animal Defenders
International (ADI) campaigns to protect animals in entertainment,
replacement of animals in experiments; worldwide traffic in endangered
species; vegetarianism; factory farming; pollution and conservation.
ADI also rescues animals in distress worldwide. Our evidence has led to
campaigns and legislative action all over the world to protect them.
www.ad-international.org



----
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Animal Defenders International
Millbank Tower
Millbank
LONDON, SW1P 4QP, UK
tel. +44 (0)20 7630 3340
fax. +44 (0)20 7828 2179
www.ad-international.org


Please sign our petition to replace animal testing in Europe
http://www.ad-international.org/petitions/



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Gold Coast council joins circus animal ban

The Gold Coast City Council has joined RSPCA Queensland's campaign to
ban circuses using exotic animals from operating on council land.

The Gold Coast joins the Ipswich City Council, which has also signed up.

"This is terrific news and we applaud the council for its courage and
foresight," the RSPCA's scientific research officer, Mandy Symons,
said.

"We're hoping that other councils will follow in the footsteps of
Ipswich and the Gold Coast."

--
full story:
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/gold-coast-council-joins-circus-animal-ban-20090809-edsa.html

Bolivia : Congress representative Ximena Flores interviewed on AP on the world's first total ban on all circus animals

La Paz, Bolivia: Congress representative Ximena Flores interviewed on
AP on the world's first total ban on all circus animals (wild and
domestic):

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jmX7W21Q6d4qT8ezcsDba4aaJZuQD99P2TUG4

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jul2009/2009-07-14-02.asp

http://www.laprensa.com.bo/noticias/31-07-09/noticias.php?nota=31_07_09_socd2.php

The ban is based on the evidence of suffering caused by constant
transport and confinement, found in both domestic and exotic species,
during an ADI undercover investigation. The Bolivian Congress and
President Morales took the view that given the circumstances travelling
circuses could not provide their animals with the accommodation
necessary to maintain full physical and psychological health, and
animals often suffered violence and abuse.

ADI Ambassador, actress Jorja Fox offered President Morales her support:


"... Only in recent times has human understanding of other species begun
to tell us about their intelligence, their means of communication,
ability to use tools, their family bonds and emotions. Psychological,
behavioural and environmental studies have helped us to understand their
world. With this greater knowledge of the capacity for suffering in our
fellow creatures who share this earth, is is no longer acceptable for
mankind to abuse animals in circuses, just for our entertainment. The
fact that Bolivia will be the first... country with a national ban on
animal circuses, including both wild and domesticated species, is a
tremendous credit to the compassion and progressive thinking of yourself
and your nation. I believe that many countries will follow Bolivia's
lead. I therefore offer my support... and warmest congratulations to
you and your Government."

IT IS TIME TO GO BOLIVIAN ON ANIMAL CIRCUSES!

This month, Bolivian President Evo Morales signed the world’s first
law banning the use of all wild and domestic animals in circuses, and
I know what you’re thinking: What a cruel blow to the children of
Bolivia, who deserve, like all the rest of the world’s kids, to be
forced to watch an abused bear ride a bicycle.

Of course not. You’re thinking, good for Bolivia.

Almost everybody knows animal circuses are archaic, embarrassing,
unnecessary, demeaning and abusive. We need to follow Bolivia’s
example and put pressure on our own government to abolish the
ridiculous spectacle of animal circuses.
The surprising thing is that Bolivia is the first country to take such
an obviously humane and necessary step if we are to repair our broken
selves and our broken relationship to the planet we’ve trashed.

--
full story:
http://www.sdcitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/the_greatest_sham_on_earth/8292/

On the Matter of Elephant Rights

Should you ever hit an elephant? If so, how hard, and with what?

The reason I ask these questions is because I recently viewed a video
of circus handlers beating their elephants before performances of the
Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey circus. The pictures clearly show
the handlers using a device called a bull hook to strike the elephants
on the ears, trunk and head, sometimes quite forcefully.
...
An investigator of the animal rights group PETA recorded the video. He
traveled undercover as a stagehand with the Ringling Bros. Red Unit
for several months to show locations in a number of different states,
including Madison Square Garden in New York City.
...
All of the discussion and differing points of view really fall into
three rather black and white arguments. Wild animals should never be
held captive because that is against their nature and intrinsically
cruel. Wild animals can be ethically held in captivity as long as they
are treated kindly. Wild animals are merely beasts and subject to the
decisions of humans. The debate is not a new one. Unfortunately, the
animals, be they elephant, tiger or other, never get to have a say.

--
full story:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roseanne-colletti/on-the-matter-of-elephant_b_245153

.html

Born to Be Tortured!Petition to Sign!

Target:US Representatives
Sponsored by: Marisia Chody

The endangered, 'gentle giants,' are at this moment, being abused by their circus 'keeper.'
While being in labor, the mother is being beaten repeatedly with a iron bullhook, the offspring is born on the concrete floor. Shortly there after, the offspring is pulled away from its mother. From this moment on the offspring will only live the life of pain and sorrow. This baby is now born to be tortured! Elephants are so terrified of the trainers that they begin urinating, defecating, and trumpeting in fear at the sound of their voices.Please read my letter to the US Representative. Please help and sign this petition.
The endangered, 'gentle giants,' are at this moment, being abused by their circus 'keeper.'
While being in labor, the mother is being beaten repeatedly with a iron bullhook, the offspring is born on the concrete floor. Shortly there after, the offspring is pulled away from its mother. From this moment on the offspring will only live the life of pain and sorrow. This baby is now born to be tortured! Elephants are so terrified of the trainers that they begin urinating, defecating, and trumpeting in fear at the sound of their voices.Please read my letter to the US Representative. Please help and sign this petition.
US Representatives,
We are shocked to hear that circus animals are still being tortured today, right now.
When these curious and energetic animals have their childhoods cut tragically short, they learn that being shackled by two legs, barely able to take a single step, causes intolerable boredom and distress
Elephants are aggressively hooked on a daily basis, and handlers rub dirt into bloody bullhook wounds to conceal them from the public.They are unchained only to the public. Their skins are 1 inch thick, but so sensative, it can feel a fly landing on them.
Please help. Thank you for taking time to read this.signature
goal: 2,000

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/born-to-be-tortured

Brazilian Deputies approve legislation to ban animal circuses

Posted: 8 June 2009. Updated: 23 July 2009


Animal Defenders International (ADI) is overjoyed that a ban on the use of animals in circuses is within reach in Brazil.

(Pictured: ADI’s Helder Constantino, Head of Parliamentary Affairs, with our campaign elephant outside the Commission in Brazil)

Bill No. 7291, presented by the Congressman Antonio Carlos Biffi, has passed through the Commission of Education and Culture of the Chamber of Deputies in the Brazilian Congress. Following an intense debate with a strong presence of circus lobbyists and animal protection groups, the bill was unanimously approved in the Commission.

The approval of the bill follows intensive lobbying lead by ADI as part of the Stop Circus Suffering campaign in Brazil. This was launched in 2008 in conjunction with Brazilian animal protection groups and with the backing of cruelty-free cosmetics company Surya. An ADI undercover investigation revealed a disturbing insight behind the scenes of Brazil’s circus industry, including:

•Camels being punched, hit with a stick, struck with a tent pole, and their lips being twisted to inflict pain;
•A solitary elephant chained by the legs barely able to move;
•A child allowed to torment a camel;
•A camel forced to travel whilst pregnant and giving birth in a temporary pen on bare concrete;
•A solitary bear forced to live in a cage on the back of a lorry;
•A llama having its ear twisted to make it obey;
•An elephant chained in a noisy and frightening environment, in a stadium with deafening engine noise and flashing lights.

The bill bans the use of both wild and domestic animals in circus shows. The Commission compromised by allowing 8 years for the implementation of the law. The bill will next be discussed in the Constitutional Commission and then in the Plenary.

This positive step forward comes very soon after the bill to ban all animals in circuses was approved by the Bolivian Congress and it is waiting for the Presidential assent to become a law. A similar debate was held in the Peruvian Congress, who last week passed a move to ban animals in circuses in the Agrarian and Andean Peoples Commission. The bill will soon be discussed in the full parliament.

ADI Head of Parliamentary Affairs, Helder Constantino, who attended the debate in the Brazilian Commission, says “There is incredible momentum in South America to secure legislation banning the use of all animals in circuses and Brazil is part of it. We salute the hard work of the Commission of Education and Culture for not buckling under the pressure of the circus industry. The video and photographic evidence that we collected in Brazil, among other places in South America, shows clearly how animals suffer and are abused in circuses. We hope that the Brazilian Congress will approve this bill and make an important stand in ending the suffering of animals in the name of entertainment.”

------------------- END
NOTES FOR THE EDITORS
Animal Defenders International (ADI)
With offices in London, San Francisco and Bogotá, Animal Defenders International (ADI) campaigns to protect animals in entertainment, replacement of animals in experiments; worldwide traffic in endangered species; vegetarianism; factory farming; pollution and conservation. ADI also rescues animals in distress worldwide. Our evidence has led to campaigns and legislative action all over the world to protect them. http://www.ad-international.org

For further information, contact ADI Public Relations Officer,
Office Tel: 020 7630 3344
Email: prdesk@ad-international.org

Please Send Another E-mail For Tina, Jewel, Queenie

Thank you to all who called and wrote to Congress and the USDA on behalf of Tina, Jewel and Queenie, the three elephants suffering at the hands of their trainer, Will Davenport, a chronic violator of federal animal welfare law. The USDA received so many calls that it set up a special team to handle them. The pressure we are generating is surely helping to bring attention to the plight of these elephants. We are confident that only a little more pressure is necessary to achieve our goal: confiscation of the elephants and transfer to a sanctuary.

After their scheduled engagements with the Shrine Circus in Idaho were cancelled (thanks to letters from IDA and our loyal members), the elephants returned to their home base in Leggett, Texas. There they reportedly remain while undergoing tuberculosis testing and veterinary evaluation. Yet, every day that the USDA leaves these elephants in the hands of a trainer that the agency itself has documented to be untrained and incompetent, is another day that the lives of these magnificent animals are endangered.

All three elephants have suffered from severe weight loss, Tina and Jewel for the second time in as many years. A just-released USDA inspection report from June indicates that Jewel lost 740 pounds and Queenie (aka "Boo") lost 520 pounds, while Tina has lost 640 pounds in less than a year.


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