ANTI-RINGLING BROS CIRCUS CAMPAIGN CONTINUES
Ringling Bros Circus is long gone. Thanks to everyone for participating. We had the best attendance at our leafleting events and demo than in many years past.
But, Action for Animals' campaign to ban elephant chaining and bullhooks in Austin continues. We ask that you continue to call Ringling's local sponsors, our mayor and city council members and Jack Hanna, Ringling's only big name supporter. See complete details below.
Here's how you can help defend animals abused by Ringling Bros:
Donate Money
We need you to make a generous donation today to Action for Animals for our campaign against Ringling Bros. Please go to SUPPORT AFAA page for details on how to make a donation or you can call us at 512-236-9518 and someone will pick up your donation.
Call and Email KXAN
Local TV station KXAN (NBC) is promoting Ringling Bros' visit to Austin. Please write polite emails to KXAN and ask them to stop sponsoring Ringling Bros Circus at viewercomments@kxan.com
You can also call/email their news director, Michael Fabac at 476-3636 or email him at michael.fabac@kxan.com and politely explain why KXAN should not be sponsoring the circus.
You may give these reasons for asking them to not sponsor Ringling Bros.
- Ringling Bros has been citied over 70 times in the last several years for violating the Animal Welfare Act.
- Denny's, VISA, Mastercard, and Sears, and Liz Claiborne have stopped sponsoring Ringling Bros after being shown video of animal abuse by handlers and trainers.
- There is no single major humane group in the U.S. that support Ringling Bros due to animal cruelty.
- One 8-month baby elephant died after falling from a pedestal during training
- Ringling does nothing to protect elephant habitat in Asia or Africa, one of the biggest threats to elephants in the wild.
- Ringling Bros' elephants spend most of the day chained by one or two feet, unable to move more than a couple of feet.
- Foot infections and arthritis in elephants is caused by being chained most of the day in one place.
- chaining, caging and training are so deadly to elephants in captivity that it reduces their lifespan from 50-60 years in the wild to 20-30 years in captivity.
- KXAN should not be turning a blind eye to animal cruelty.
Contact the Mayor and City Council
Contact the mayor and city council and ask them to ban the use of bullhooks on elephants and chaining of elephants in the city limits.
First, the Texas Constitution explicitly allows the use of exotic animals by circuses. So we cannot ask the city council to ban them. Second, Ringling Bros performs at the Erwin Center, which is legally state property since it's part of the UT System. The ban on bullhooks and chains would not be in effect there but would go into effect once Ringling enters the city limits and tries to walk their elephants down Austin's street.
Since circuses that use exotic animals are legal in Austin, the city council can, by federal law, further regulate exotic animal acts in the city limits. Thus, we can ask the city council to ban bullhooks and chains, and they can vote to ban them.
Use the info on #1 (above) when calling the city council. You will not be speaking directly to a council member or the mayor. You will likely be speaking to an assistant. When you call ask to speak to someone about this issue. When they are on the phone, identify yourself by first and last name, your profession (you can even say that you're a housewife), and number of years that you have lived in Austin. Then tell them why you have called. DO NOT keep them on the phone longer than a minute or two. This is a golden rule. The city council and their staff are tremendously busy and they get many calls per day from Austinites and lobbyist asking for something. So, no calls lasting longer than one or two minutes.
Sample dialogue for you to use when you call city council and mayor:
YOU: Hello, Ringling Bros Circus is coming to Austin in August and I'm opposed to the use of exotic animals for entertainment in our city limits. Who can I speak to about this?
COUNCIL AIDE: You can speak to me.
YOU: Hi, my name is (your name here), I'm a mother of two, and I've lived in Austin for 10 years. I have never taken my children to circuses because they abuse animals. I would like Councilmember (insert name of councilmember here or mayor's name) to ban the use of bullhooks on elephants and the use of chains on elephants. I understand that chaining an elephant cuts their lifespan in half and that bullhooks are used cruelly to train elephants. I think all animals in the city limits should be protected, not just cats and dogs. Would you pass this information on to (insert councilmembers name here) for me?
OR
YOU: Hi, my name is (your name here), I'm a student going to UT and I've lived in Austin all my life. My parents used to take me to the circus as a child but I stopped going several years ago when I found out they abuse their animals. I would like Councilmember (insert name of councilmember here or mayor's name) to ban the use of bullhooks on elephants and the use of chains on elephants. I understand that chaining an elephant cuts their lifespan in half and that bullhooks are used cruelly to train elephants. I think all animals in the city limits should be protected, not just cats and dogs. Would you pass this information on to (insert councilmembers name here) for me?
COUNCIL AIDE: Yes I can. Thank you for your call.
YOU: Thank you.
That's it. Not to complicated, right? It only takes about 15 minutes to call all the city council members and the mayor. Here is their contact info or you can email them all by clicking here. Again, be brief and polite.
- Mayor Will Wynn - 974-2250
- Council Member Lee Leffingwell - 974-2260
- Council Member Mike Martinez - 974-2264
- Council Member Randi Shade - 974-2255
- Council Member Laura Morrison - 974-2258
- Council Member Brewster McCracken - 974-2256
- Council Member Sheryl Cole - 974-2266
Please call us or email us if you have any questions about this. Thanks.
For more information about how Ringling Bros and other circuses abuse animals, please go to www.circuses.com.
Call Jack Hanna
Contact Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo in Ohio. You've probably seen Jack on talks shows for years. We're targeting him because he is endorsing Ringling's Center for Elephant Conservation facility in Florida. AFA has said this before about the CEC: This facility is not an elephant conservation project. It is used to breed elephants to replace the ones that are dying prematurely after being abused by Ringling Bros (see above). All elephants bred at that facility become Ringling elephants. They are never returned to the wild or turned over to sanctuaries. And, they are never used for educational purposes.
Call Jack Hanna today and politely ask him to stop being an accomplice to animal abuse by sponsoring Ringling Bros' CEC.
You can reach him at:
jackhannateam@columbuszoo.org or at info@jackhanna.com or at 800-666-5397 (operator can connect you)
Again, please be polite no matter what ridiculous claims they make to defend themselves. We lose the highroad if we are rude, curse or are verbally abusive. You may use the above info to ask Jack to stop sponsoring Ringling Bros' CEC.
MORE TO COME SOON