Update: Moran Pushes To Restrict Circuses From Using Animals

Feld entertainment, which owns Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, has agreed to pay $270,000 for allegedly violating the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). There are other concessions, including mandatory annual AWA training for circus personnel. 

Is it enough? 

Following the announcement by the USDA, U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8) renewed his call for passage of the Traveling Exotic Animal Protection Act, which would put an end to undetermined periods of time that animals live in temporary traveling circus conditions.     

“Today’s announcement indicates that mistreatment of animals in violation of the law – despite claims to the contrary from the traveling circus industry – is widespread and persistent,” said Moran. “The mounting evidence of inhumane treatment and growing public concern for these animals demands that we reconsider the appropriate living conditions provided for these intelligent, social creatures.” 

The USDA announced the agreement on Nov. 23, after investigators discovered as far back as 2007 that "circus handlers made elephants perform when they were ill and used the same wheelbarrows to feed meat to tigers and haul away their waste, among other allegations," according to the Washington Post. 

Kenneth Feld is chief executive officer of Feld Entertainment. ”We look forward to working with the USDA in a cooperative and transparent manner that meets our shared goal of ensuring that our animals are healthy and receive the highest quality care,” he told the Post. 

Feld, which waved its right to a hearing, can be fined $10,000 by the USDA for any violations committed after June 2008. 

"This settlement sends a direct message to the public and to those who exhibit animals that USDA will take all necessary steps to protect animals regulated under the Animal Welfare Act," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "The civil penalty and other stipulations in the settlement agreement will promote a better understanding of the rights and responsibilities of all exhibitors in maintaining and caring for animals under their care."

History of Neglect? 

There are about 16 major circuses in the U.S., many of which own hundreds of animals. In April, a protest was organized at George Mason University against the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. "Animals belong in their native habitats, not in the circus," said a blog organizing the protest. "Numerous circuses use animals such as elephants, tigers, horses, and zebras. These animals are caged, routinely beaten to incentivize their performance of tricks, and suffer both mentally and physically during their captivity in the circus. The only reason animals are used in circuses is for profit. Their captivity does not educate children about animals. Rather, it sends a message that animal abuse and captivity is acceptable." 

According to a 2009 ADI report "Animals in Traveling Circuses - The Science of Suffering": "No one is saying ‘end circuses.’ Rather, let’s take animals out of circuses and let humans do the entertaining. This has economic benefits; ADI has found that as animal circuses close, the trend is that animal-free circuses replace them. The circus industry can still thrive and even increase overall attendance without the stigma of animal suffering."

Findings from Animal Defenders International: 

• Horses and ponies spend up to 96 percent of their time tied with short ropes in stalls, or tethered to trailers.
• Time in the ring, allowing them to run, is limited.
• Tigers and lions spend between 75 and 99 percent of their time in severely cramped cages on the backs of trailers. 
• Elephants spend 58 to 98 percent of their time chained by at least one leg, and generally both a front and hindleg. The circus norm is to chain elephants overnight, either in tents or trailers. Elephant enclosures with circuses are inadequate, and the regime of chaining, being prepared for the show, performing and giving rides means time in them is limited. 
• Animals in circuses suffer poor animal welfare and long, arduous journeys. Extended periods being tied up, chained, or caged results in abnormal behaviors that indicate these animals are suffering as a result of the environmentally impoverished, inappropriate conditions in which they live.