Remember back a few months ago when PETA released that heartbreaking video showing circus workers from Ringling Bros. beating elephants with bull hooks and generally torturing them? Well here’s the baby elephant edition. The animals rights group managed to obtain photos of young pachyderms allegedly getting electroshocked, bound and abused by carnies. With the original footage prompting a federal investigation within days after it was released, it’s only a matter of hours before these agonizing images do the same.
PETA is planning a rally tomorrow against Ringling Bros. in Coney Island, where the legendary circus is holding a string of shows throughout the summer. The animals rights group whipped up a whole lot of attention earlier in the week after releasing damning video of animal handlers beating the elephants, sparking a federal investigation. They’ll be meeting up at 9:30AM on the corner of 21st and Surf Avenue.
Even the cold hearted U.S. Department of Agriculture was disturbed by PETA’s undercover video of elephants getting beat in the face with bull whips by cruel circus handlers and will be investigating. Ringling Bros. of course denied they mistreat their pachyderms, but the Animal Welfare Institute might disagree. They also filed a lawsuit that is almost nine years in the making against the circus for the harsh treatment of its Asian elephants. Ringling Bros. responded by launching a website for damage control, complete with propaganda video. Final arguments were finally presented in March of this year, but it’s still unclear how the case concluded.
Photo by Jennie Warren |via|
Circuses are just wrong. Between the terrifying clowns parading around rings of animals doing very unanimal things or badly hurt performers quickly being carted off as to not spoil the fun, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey always seemed like a creepy operation. And that’s just coming from the stands. The cruelty going on backstage is far more horrific as this new investigation by PETA indicates. The animal rights group infiltrated the den of torture and shot the evilest footage on earth of circus handlers walloping elephants in the face with bullwhips as well as some tiger torture. See the awful video below that will likely convince you to never set foot under the big top again.
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