I totally support the call of The Humane Society of the United States to avoid all circuses that use wild animals in their performances. Please, people, I urge you NOT to go to the FirsTier Event Center this coming Aprill 11 to watch the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. A lawsuit has been filed against them by four major anti-animal cruelty organizations along with a former circus employee for violating the Endagered Species Act for their maltreatment of Asian elephants.

That old scene from Dumbo where he gets forcedly separated from his mother always made me cry, and apparently that cartoon isn’t very far from reality! The separation of baby elephants from their mothers, abusive training methods, and prolonged confinement of the animals are all part of the mistreatment lawsuit against the Ringling Bros. Circus. The statements they released claiming that the elephants were trained exclusively through positive reinforcement are bullshit! Undercover video footage shows trainers beating and tormenting the elephants with a hooked metal stick. I mean, how cruel can you be? These elephants are wild animals, they should be out roaming in the wild and not caged like some prisoner for our own enjoyment! So, please, don’t go to the Ringling Bros. Circus on April 11! Let’s show them that there are alternative ways to have some fun with our family other than patronizing circuses that make money by forcing these helpless animals to perform acts and tricks which go against their natural wild way of life.