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Davenport bound Carson & Barnes Circus pays Feds to avoid Court over Elephant Injuries

For Immediate Release:
May 24, 2005

Contact:
Nicole Meyer 757-622-7382

Davenport, Iowa ---Today, PETA fired off a letter to Northpark Mall Marketing Director Jenna Poyner, alerting her to the fact that the Carson & Barnes Circus agreed to pay nearly $1,000 to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for two separate alleged violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act. PETA is urging her not to host circuses like Carson & Barnes in the future.

The USDA opened a formal investigation into the circus after a Carson & Barnes Circus trailer carrying two elephants overturned in June 2003, injuring the elephants—the second such incident in less than a year. The circus has been cited by the USDA at least eight times since 1995 for failing to maintain its animal-transport trailers.

Causing elephants to suffer is nothing new to Carson & Barnes. PETA has obtained shocking video footage of Carson & Barnes trainers violently attacking elephants with steel-tipped bullhooks as the animals scream and recoil in pain. The head trainer instructs the other handlers to make sure that such beatings are always severe and never carried out in public view. Carson & Barnes agreed to pay $400 in order to avoid further action by the USDA in this matter. To view this footage, visit Circuses.com.

PETA’s letter comes in the wake of the death of Jennie, a 5-year-old endangered Asian elephant. Jennie died in April 2004 at the company’s facility in Hugo, Okla., after contracting a herpes virus. PETA points out that the stress of being separated from her mother, sent on the road at just 16 months of age, and subjected to intense training sessions, demanding performances, and constant travel is likely to have compromised Jennie’s immune system and left her vulnerable to infection. At less than 2 years old, Jennie’s baby brother Obert has been thrust into the same stressful situation for the circus’s 2005 season.

"Jennie’s death and this recent payment are yet more indictments of Carson & Barnes’ long history of cruelty, abuse, and neglect," says PETA Director Debbie Leahy. "In circuses, bullhooks, electric-shock prods, whips, and chains are the rule, and to the people who wield these weapons, the suffering and deaths of animals are no more than the cost of doing business."

Video footage of elephant beatings can be seen on PETA’s Web site Circuses.com. PETA’s letter to Northpark Mall Marketing Director Jenna Poyner follows:

May 24, 2005

Jenna Poyner, Marketing Director
Northpark Mall
320 W. Kimberly Rd.
Davenport, IA 52806

Dear Ms. Poyner:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is a nonprofit organization with more than 850,000 members and supporters dedicated to animal protection. We are writing to alert you to disturbing information concerning the Carson & Barnes Circus, which is scheduled to perform in Davenport at the Northpark Mall beginning May 27. We ask that you consider the important information in this letter and make the compassionate decision not to host Carson & Barnes—or any other circus with animal acts—on mall property in the future.

Carson & Barnes Circus has agreed to pay nearly $1,000 to avoid further action by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in two separate alleged violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA). A PETA investigator touring with the Carson & Barnes Circus recorded the enclosed video. Tim Frisco, the circus’s animal care director, is shown viciously attacking and shocking terrified elephants. Frisco instructs other trainers to hurt the elephants until they scream and to sink a sharp, metal bullhook into their flesh and twist it. Frisco also cautions that the beatings must be concealed from the public. The circus agreed to pay $400 for mishandling elephants in violation of the AWA.

The USDA opened a formal investigation into the circus after a Carson & Barnes circus trailer carrying two elephants overturned in June 2003, injuring the elephants—the second such incident in less than a year. This investigation closed in August 2004 and resulted in the circus’s agreeing to pay $550. The circus has been cited by the USDA at least eight times since 1995 for failing to maintain its animal-transport trailers. Carson & Barnes has also been cited for failure to provide veterinary care, adequate space and ventilation, shelter from the elements, and clean drinking water.

In April 2004, Carson & Barnes’ 5-year-old, endangered Asian elephant named Jennie died after contracting a herpes virus carried by African elephants. Jennie’s death might have been prevented if Carson & Barnes had followed even the most basic guidelines for elephant care. The circus subjected Jennie to the rigors of forceful training, performance, and travel at just 16 months of age, stressing her delicate immune system. At less than 2 years old, Jennie’s baby brother Obert has been thrust into the same stressful situation for the circus’s 2005 season.

Beatings and extreme confinement are a part of everyday life for animals in circuses. We hope you agree that this abuse is unacceptable and must be stopped. I would be happy to answer any questions or supply additional information. You can contact me at 757-622-7382.

Sincerely,

Nicole Meyer, Elephant Specialist
Captive Exotic Animals Department

enclosures: Carson & Barnes Circus Elephant-Training Video and Factsheet