Big top debate - As the circus rolls into town next week, animal rights activists want you to see behind the curtain

BY EMMILY BRISTOL
www.LasVegasCityLife.com

Posted 06/22/2006 

As the circus rolls into town for shows June 22-26 at the Orleans Arena, no doubt the big top will be a big draw for lots of people -- especially animal rights activists campaigning against circuses that use animals in their act.

"The point of the protest is to inform the public," says Michelle Thew, CEO of the Animal Protection Institute. "Ringling Bros. puts out a lot of spin about what they do. We hope the information we give them [fans], even if they've already bought a ticket, that they think about it before they buy another ticket."

It's an old debate. In one corner, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus claims audiences want the animals in the show -- specifically elephants. And circus reps say they treat the animals well and that the tricks performed each night mimic activities they would do in the wild.

"Most of the people who come to the circus is because of the animals," says Bruce Read, vice president of animal stewardship for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. (This circus is a division of Feld Entertainment, which also owned the Siegfried & Roy act that ended when Roy Horn was attacked by one of the tigers in the show and left with permanent injuries.)

In the other corner are animal rights activists who say Ringling Bros. talks a good game about treating the animals well, but in reality are working the animals to death in unsavory conditions.

"The elephants spend 95 percent of their lives in chains and are confined to about 3 feet of movement when they're not performing," PETA Campaign Coordinator Matt Rice says. "Ringling Bros. has killed more elephants than it's bred. ? But most of their elephants are captured in the wild, not bred."

The circus' treatment of elephants is at the center of a 2000 lawsuit filed by former Ringling elephant crewman Tom Rider. In his federal lawsuit, which is still in the discovery phase, Rider alleges that he saw cruel treatment of the elephants on a daily basis and that the company violates the Endangered Species Act. Many non-profit organizations have joined Rider in the lawsuit: Animal Protection Institute, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Fund for Animals and the Animal Welfare Institute.

Rider worked for the circus for about 2 1/2 years before quitting because of what he saw happening to the animals, he says.

"When you see all that [I saw], you know why I filed the lawsuit," Rider says by phone from the van he both lives in and tours the country in to speak out against circuses with animals. His living and travel expenses are paid for by private donations and several animal welfare groups.

Rider says he was present the July 1999 day when the 4-year-old Asian elephant "Baby Benjamin" drowned. According to Rider and video footage of the incident on the Animal Welfare Institute's website, the elephant is seen preferring the deeper part of a pond out of fear of his Ringling Bros. handler, who witnesses say often beat Benjamin with a bullhook. A bullhook is a long stick with a curved, sharp hook on the end often used to train elephants.

"Ringling might say [it was] drowning. I'm telling you now that the [U.S. Department of Agriculture] said it was from poking and prodding with sharp instruments, like a bullhook," Rider says. "This is the biggest cover-up in USDA history."

Ringling's Read says bullhooks are used only for training purposes and could be likened to a dog leash or reins for a horse.

"We use it as a guide and as an extension of the arm," Read says.

But Rider says during his time working for the circus he saw elephants injured by the bullhooks, especially in the delicate skin behind their ears and their anus.

"I saw aggressive hooking," Rider says.

For the local show, which is one of three traveling Ringling shows at one time, Read says there will be horses, elephants, doves, domestic dogs and domestic cats.

The protest, which will take place outside the arena, will include local animal rights activists, representatives from the institute and PETA. Rider, too, will be in town to speak out against the circus. Most of the protesters say they would be happy with circuses if they just got rid of the animals.

"[The circus] is teaching children that it's okay to see wild animals forced to do these unnatural and painful tricks," Thew says.

Original Article:  www.LasVegasCityLife.com

Emmily Bristol is a CityLife staff writer. She can be reached at 871-6780 ext. 344 or ebristol@lvcitylife.com.