Pass Intro 389, Ban Exotic Animal Performances in NYC
- by: John G. Hynes, DVM, PC
- recipient: NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and NYC Council Members
The elephants, tigers and other wild animals commonly used in circuses perform not out of love for show business but because they are beaten into submission. Trainers use bullhooks, whips, electrical shock, and other devices to turn wild animals into unwilling daredevils and performers in the Cruelest Show on Earth. During the winter off season, animals such as bears and elephants are crammed into cages, stalls, and even trucks. Elephants- who walk up to 30 miles a day in nature- spend 90 percent of their day chained and confined in small areas. This legislation would prohibit the use of wild animals- such as elephants, non-human primates, lions, tigers, and many other species of exotic animals- in circuses and other performances. It currently awaits a hearing in the New York City Council Health Committee.
We the undersigned, are asking for a hearing, and the passage of Intro 389, which would ban the use of exotic and wild animals in performances in New York City. The abuse of elephants and other wild animals in circuses is as old as the circus itself. We usually see circus elephants performing ridiculous tricks and taking commands, restrained in shackles and prodded on and off trains or trailers. These animals are denied almost everything that is important to them, including social relationships, mental stimulation, exercise, and emotional outlets. Their existence is limited to beatings and confinement in chains and transportation in boxcars and trailers.
A large percentage of the population is unaware of the abuse that goes on under the Big Top. Education is the key to making significant change for these animals and ending their lives of suffering. Many educated and informed people know that abuse in the name of entertainment is not acceptable. Animal free performances, like Cirque du Soleil, provide just as enjoyable, if not more exciting, experiences as the %u201Ctraditional%u201D animal circuses. Tradition should not be an excuse for continuing inhumane or abusive treatment. Bullfighting and cockfighting may be considered tradition in some cultures, but that doesn%u2019t mean that these practices are not inhumane, or cause undo suffering.
In New York City, there is a bill before the City Council called INTRO 389. (www.intro389.org), which would ban wild animal performances, including animal circuses, within the city limits Several animal protection groups, including The Fund for Animals, an affiliate organization of the Humane Society of the United States, brought charges against Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for multiple violations of the Endangered Species Act for abuse of the Asian elephants in their care. Undercover videos and photos continue to come out, showing cruel and inhumane treatment of elephants and other exotic animals, in the control of Ringling and other animal circuses.
Please support this humane and just bill, and vote to pass Intro 389.
Thank you for your consideration, and for voting to help alleviate the suffering of these brutalized animals.
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