PETA, VAL protest circus visit

The circus coming to town does not spark euphoric joy and childhood nostalgia for everyone…. The circus coming to town does not spark euphoric joy and childhood nostalgia for everyone. For many animal rights activists, it sparks rage.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has launched a campaign against traveling circuses such as Ringling Brothers and Barnum ‘ Bailey. PETA claims that Ringling Brothers consistently fails to meet the standards of the Animal Welfare Act, beats and intimidates animals into performing unnatural behaviors and habitually neglects sick or injured animals, causing death.

So wherever Ringling Brothers tours, PETA follows, organizing and providing supplies for grass-roots groups who demonstrate outside circus venues.

When Ringling Brothers began a four-night engagement at Mellon Arena Wednesday, demonstrators, including Pitt’s Voices for Animal Liberation, were on hand.

“These animals don’t deserve to be in chains any more than you or I,” said VAL member Daniel Moyer.

Since Mellon Arena has various entrances, three groups of five stood in various entrances to maximize the chances of patrons seeing them. Activists held signs reading “Cruelest Show on Earth,” countering Ringling’s slogan “Greatest Show on Earth,” and posters depicting animals behind cages with the message “Help Me,” on the bottom.

VAL urges people to consider the Cirque du Soleil and Circus of the Children as alternatives to Ringling Brothers.

“You don’t have to go to an animal circus to see animals do unnatural tricks when you can go to a non-animal circus and see humans do unnatural tricks,” Moyer said.

These campaigns are ones of misinformation according to Jenifer Maninger, public relations director for Ringling Brothers.

“These organizations take incidents and misconstrue them,” Maninger said. “They take incidents and twist the facts.”

Maninger said PETA, in particular, is a solely political organization that uses money donors meant for animal care on PR stunts.

“They want to tell people what they can eat, what they can wear and how to use their entertainment dollar,” she said. “They don’t have [any] kind of animal sanctuary. They don’t have any shelter for animals. They are not supporting any kind of research to help preserve species.”

Maninger is confident that show-goers will be convinced that PETA is wrong.

“I think the thousands of people who see our show each night can see that our animals are healthy animals,” Maninger said. “They see the truth, that these animals have a bond with their caretakers and that they are well-cared for animals.”

Ringling Brothers has never been found to be in violation of the Animal Welfare Act, according to Maninger. She said that all of the “violations” PETA mentions are either one-time incidents blown out of proportion or “minor housekeeping issues.” She used an open feedbag as an example.

Documents from the United States Department of Agriculture reveal a somewhat darker picture.

A USDA inspection report stated that vent failure in a transportation car carrying tigers “pushed temperatures to a point of immediate danger to animals.”

A USDA memo states that elephants were chained in a manner that caused severe scars on their legs.

USDA testimony in front of the Secretary of Agriculture stated that Ringling handlers failed to handle an ill juvenile Asian elephant “in a manner that did not cause behavioral stress and unnecessary discomfort.”

Brandi Valladolid, coordinator of PETA’s circus campaign, defended her organization against Ringling Brothers.

Valladolid said that Ringling is the one who twists the truth.

“Ringling likes to say ‘We’ve never been cited by the USDA … The USDA is not a citation-issuing organization. What they do issue are called non-compliances and non-compliances do indicate that they are in violation of the Animal Welfare Act.”

According to Valladolid, animal circuses are intrinsically cruel.

“There is no way to steal animals out of the wild and force them to perform, force them to jump through flaming hoops, ship them around the country in boxcars and be humane,” she said.

“The only way to get these animals to perform is through bullhooks, shock prods, whips,” she said.

This is not precisely true, however, according to John C. Wright, a professor of psychology at Mercer University and a certified Animal Behaviorist.

“The notion that you must use force to get a wild animal to do something is wrong,” he said. Wright cited trained dolphins that perform tricks at theme parks using a token system of treats.

More peculiar behavior is somewhat different, though. Wright avoided using the word “cruel” – “Cruel is a value judgment and not a word scientists use” – but said that trainers may have to be “creative” to entice an elephant to stand-up on its back-legs and catch a ball.

One official did have a more definitive answer towards whether Ringling Brothers and Barnum ‘ Bailey is cruel or not.

Robert Gosser, a Humane Society police officer, who inspected the circus Thursday said Ringling Brothers was “wonderful” in their care of animals.

“They have among the best facilities you can have for caring for animals,” he said.

The Humane Society checks the animals’ health, the size of its cages, and the specialized care given to certain exotic animals.

“Ringling Brothers is among the best of circuses that come to the Pennsylvania area,” Gosser said.

Fun? Cruel? Natural? Unnatural? Traveling animal circuses remain a subject of controversy.