July 29, 2009

The Suffering of Circus Animals

sfgate / CC

In medieval prisons, inmates were punished with a vile device called a "cat-o'-nine-tails"--a whip made of nine knotted thongs of cotton cord designed to lacerate the skin and cause intense pain. Reforms have rightfully eliminated such cruelty to human prisoners, but for animals in circuses, corporal punishment is still the norm, as PETA's new undercover investigation of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has revealed. It's 2009, yet elephants in circuses are still beaten with bullhooks—a rod resembling a fireplace poker with a sharp metal hook on the end--and tigers and other animals are violently whipped.

PETA's investigator caught Ringling employees digging sharp metal bullhooks into the sensitive skin behind elephants' knees and under their trunks. Eight employees--including an animal superintendent and a head elephant trainer--used bullhooks and other objects to strike elephants on the head, ears and trunk. Employees whipped elephants and a tiger, including on or near the face. One elephant, Tonka, repeatedly exhibited signs of severe psychological distress but was nevertheless forced to perform night after night. The footage can be seen at RinglingBeatsAnimals.com.

All of this was going on while Ringling was already on trial in a federal court in Washington, answering charges that its elephant-handling practices violate the federal Endangered Species Act.

Circuses easily get away with routine abuse because no government authority monitors behind-the-scenes training and handling sessions, and Ringling takes pains to hide its ugly business from potential ticket buyers. All the footage captured on video took place out of the public's view. Former Ringling employees report that a gray powder called Wonder Dust is used to conceal bloody bullhook wounds. When placed on fresh cuts and punctures, Wonder Dust closely matches the elephant's own skin color.

Besides bullhooks, trainers use whips, sticks and electric-shock prods to cause pain and intimidate animals into performing. A frightened animal trying to keep from being hurt again is an obedient animal. Elephants aren't the only involuntary performers who pay dearly to provide fleeting human entertainment. Big cats are whipped and beaten until their spirits are broken.

Moving from venue to venue almost year-round, animals are confined to squalid, sweltering boxcars or cramped transport cages. On average, elephants are kept shackled in chains for 26 hours at a time when traveling between shows, and they're sometimes chained for up to 100 hours. These animals--who are genetically designed to walk for miles every day--eat, drink, sleep, defecate and urinate in a world that's measured in inches. These prolonged periods in chains are linked to deadly foot disorders, arthritis, colic and "stereotypic" behavior such as swaying. It's no wonder that lame elephants have been videotaped limping out of Ringling's boxcars and that about one-third of the more than two dozen elephant deaths at the circus have been attributed to either osteoarthritis or a chronic foot problem.

Instead of roaming vast savannahs and jungles, tigers and lions used in circuses usually live and travel jammed two to a cage, able to do little but stand up, lie down and turn around. That's all the federal Animal Welfare Act requires when it comes to cage size, and that's all that animals are provided. Even though these minimal requirements are grotesquely inadequate, circuses can claim that they adhere to the law. If the public knew that the laws protecting captive animals essentially come down to sustaining life but little more, such meaningless "reassurances" would fall flat.

Ringling has not yet condemned any of the cruelty documented on video. Please sign the petition to asking the USDA to immediately seize Ringling's elephants and work with PETA to place them in a reputable sanctuary.