To bad Tracy Silverman didn't have a chance to talk to Peter Davis before his visit to the zoo. She might have a different take on it

Wednesday, May 21, 2008 7:14 PM

ASPCA

Animal Protection Groups Ask Federal Court to Halt Ringling Bros.' Cruel
Chaining and Confinement of Endangered Asian Elephants


       WASHINGTON, May 21 /CNW/ -- Today, a coalition of animal
protection
organizations and a former Ringling Bros. employee asked a federal district
court in Washington D.C. to immediately order a halt to Ringling Bros. and
Barnum & Bailey Circus (Ringling Bros.)'s cruel practice of shackling and
confining endangered Asian elephants for days on end in a manner that
prevents
them from walking or even turning around in place.
       Newly obtained evidence based on the circus's own documents
reveals that
Ringling Bros. keeps elephants virtually immobilized in chains for the
majority of their lives. Internal records of the circus's train travels show
that the elephants are chained while confined in boxcars for an average of
more than 26 hours at a time, and sometimes for as much as 60-100 hours
without a break as the circus moves across the country.
       "The evidence is simply shocking," says Lisa Weisberg, Senior
Vice
President of Government Affairs and Public Policy of the American Society
for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). "The public should be outraged
at the amount of time these animals are forced to be shackled and confined,
and Ringling Bros. should be ashamed at hiding this cruelty from the public
eye."
       "We hope that the Court will order Ringling Bros. to immediately
unchain
these incredibly intelligent and, social animals and spare them from
suffering
a lifetime of misery," says Tracy Silverman, General Counsel for Animal
Welfare Institute. "No animal should be chained for days at a time, week
after
week, month after month and year after year."
       The request for an immediate halt to prolonged chaining and
confinement
of elephants is part of a groundbreaking lawsuit by the ASPCA, the Animal
Welfare Institute, The Fund for Animals, Born Free USA united with Animal
Protection Institute (Born Free USA), and former Ringling Bros. employee Tom
Rider against Ringling Bros. Circus.  The suit alleges that the circus is
violating the Endangered Species Act by abusively training and disciplining
elephants with sharp implements such as bullhooks, and by intensively
confining and chaining the animals for prolonged periods of time.
       "Shackling elephants for days on end without the ability to walk
or even
turn around is inherently cruel," said Michael Markarian, President of The
Fund for Animals.  "Endangered species deserve something better than a
lifetime of suffering."
       Although Ringling Bros. has denied that the elephants spend most
of their
lives in chains, former circus employees and other witnesses have given
sworn
testimony to the U.S. Department of Agriculture that the elephants are kept
tightly chained by one front and hind leg - unable to move freely or even
turn
around - for hours on end.
       "The overwhelming evidence we have obtained confirms what former
Ringling
Bros. employees have said for years about the unimaginable cruelty that goes
on under - and behind - the Big Top," says Nicole G. Paquette, Senior Vice
President for Born Free USA. "These new revelations of prolonged chaining of
elephants should not only have significant implications for this case, but
also assist in our national efforts to pass legislation prohibiting cruel
training practices commonly used on captive elephants."
       The plaintiffs are represented by the public interest law firm
Meyer
Glitzenstein & Crystal.