Animal Rights

Intro: I state majority, if not all traveling circuses/zoos are grossly inadequate in reference to standards which need to be re-evaluated. I mean, at this point is anybody really amused?

Incidents: October 11, 2013. Springfield, MO. A keeper at Dickerson Park Zoo was crushed to death against the floor by a 41 year old, 6,000-pound female Asian elephant named Patience. She used the narrow corridor to her advantage, lunging at the keeper, knocking him down, and trampling him.

August 26, 2013. Williston, FL. Patricia Zerbini’s Two Rails Ranch was home to the terrible incident which resulted in an attendee suffering life threatening injuries. This attendee had to stay in the hospital for two months after sustaining these injuries from an Asian elephant named Rajah. The USDA later fined the ranch for failing to secure a perimeter fence, which would have stopped unauthorized personnel from entering the animal’s habitat. That’s about it though, just another lousy fine.

June 17, 2019/ Dallas, TX. Witten, the one year old giraffe, died from complications while undergoing a routine physical exam.

Feb 20, 2019/ Kansas City, MO. Hamisi sustained an acute spinal cord injury after his head got caught on the enclosure. Resulting in death.

Columbus, Ohio. On December fourth, a giraffe calf died because of complications at birth. Three weeks earlier a similar incident happened in the same facility, Columbus Zoo. Having no background in this kind of stuff, it even caught my attention. Asking, “One is understandable, but two within a three week time period. Bad luck, or negligence on behalf of the captor”?

Citations: When referencing citations in terms of animal circuses/zoos your given twenty different links to click on. To put this into perspective, there were only five or six links on the incidents involving captive animals hurting people or crowds.

Cole Brothers Circus failed to meet the simplest federal standards regarding animal care. The USDA cited them on several occasions for not giving the animals proper veterinary care, elephants were said to have lost weight and also were not given the proper space required to live. They finally took charges out on Cole Brothers Circus when their elephants showed signs of abuse via a sharp metal bull hook. A humane society in New Jersey also filed charges stating cruelty to animals for overloading and overworking an elephant. Also, two elephants described as malnourished and neglected suddenly died within a two week period. There have been seven separate situations where their elephants became violent, killing crowd members, injuring dozens of others, and causing thousands of dollars worth of damage. For Cole Brothers Circus the list goes on and on until somebody finally realized that stopping the process entirely, was way more effective than relentlessly inconveniencing their lives with fines.

Hawthorn Corporation (John Cuneo) somehow acquired 272,500$ in USDA penalties while in business, how? As they say the show must go on, or at least that’s what they told the animals working the show. This guy lost four of his elephants to a human strain of tuberculosis, and in 1997 eighteen elephants used in his show were restricted from traveling due to a tuberculosis treatment they were undergoing. The USDA suspended Cuneo’s license on more then one occasion, and in 2004 ordered him to surrender all of his elephants. They saw the completion of this order in late 2005 seeing to the final elephants release into wildlife sanctuaries. I would further detail the extent of Cuneo’s animal abuse, but the fact that he was obviously an unfit care giver according to the several suspensions given to him by the USDA. Yet, was allowed to continue business as long as his fines were payed up is downright disturbing and this Cuneo’s idiot isn’t entirely to blame. Something has to change in accordance with the laws allowing this inhumane cycle of neglect and abuse to continue once your “fines” are all payed up.

Ringling Bros. Barnum + Bailey have been cited more than 150 times for AWA non compliance regulations since 1990, and have also seen the deaths of thirty five elephants since 1992. Sometime in 2004 they also lost a two year old lion during their trek across the Mojave desert due to an apparent heat stroke. After this, a spat with the USDA resulted in the parent company of Ringling Bros. paying 270,000$, the largest civil penalty ever assessed against an exhibitor under the AWA, settling dozen of non compliance cases. Ringling also decided to make a Center for Elephant Conservation, where they planned on chaining up majority of their elephants. They also intend on breeding elephants at this facility despite all of the government mandated quarantines. Sadly, none of these animals will ever be able to see the wild. Being breed solely for the purpose of showmanship, bravo ladies and gentlemen.

Zoos: Imagine an entire life spent behind bars, dedicated solely to entertaining whichever school decided to book a field trip that day. Conditions vary throughout the zoos of America, in fact the only constant in all of these are the broken spirits carried by every animal seemingly suffering from captivity. Believe it or not, there is such a thing called “zoochosis”. Which is the inevitable loss of sanity due to loneliness, boredom, and maybe even abuse in some cases. This “zoochosis” has become such a problem, it turns out me and the stir crazy zoo tiger are taking the same antidepressants. Seriously, some zoos have resorted to medicating animals in order to curb abnormal behavior. Which is a little ridiculous! Reputable exotic animal sanctuary’s don’t even offer hands on interactions, and really do not put animals on display to the public like that. At the end of the day it just isn’t fair to the animals, no matter how you try to spin it. Petting zoos that travel probably have it the worst though, subjecting the animals to constant travel and public exposure. Rarely giving the animals proper time for rest or much needed exercise, because traveling zoos are often cramped. These animals never get to catch a break, but it doesn’t matter. Seeing them constantly locked in cages or being shuffled around for business purposes, is really starting to become annoying. Almost as annoying as the people who want to own an “exotic animal” as one their pets, not even beginning to understand the complexities behind raising a cougar in a New York basement. Stop and consider the reality of it, these are foreign animals plucked from the wild expected to act like your average run of the mill house cat. No wonder why there has been incidents where a tiger mauls it’s owners grandson, or a lion escapes killing several dogs and trapping a child in his room. With very few government regulations, it is a miracle the streets aren’t over run by the exotic animals famous rappers buy then instantly realize they don’t want to take care of.

Conclusion: Something has to be done! I mean, there is so much to be done. First off, any form of traveling circus involving animals should be disbanded. All the animals effected by this liquidation should be treated with the utmost care until they can be transported back to their habitats or proper facilities. Second off, somebody has to change the laws regarding animal fairness and overall well being when put into situations such as traveling circuses. With the amendment of a three strike rule, stating if the owner so much as gets a fine for noncompliance, it’ll be a strike. Three strikes results in a year suspension of your license as an exhibitor. Eliminating the possibility of another Cuneo’s, thus shining more light on all of the animals that were abused underneath his spotlight. Third off, why do we still support zoos? If animals are becoming depressed after being locked in there for such a long period of time, then what’s the point? Never would I have thought, that society went as far as medicating zoo animals in order to manipulate their happiness. Is this whole zoo experience really worth the day to day torture undergone by these zoo animals who are finding it harder and harder to even put on a fake smile for us?