Care2 to petition for circus elephant rights

Environmental campaign website Care2 is today urging its followers to support a petition in response to a recent announcement from New York officials that Ringling Brothers circus will be performing in Coney Island later this year.

The circus setting up was made possible by a donation from Taconic Investments, a real-estate investment company that has developed over twelve million square hectares of land. Fellow animal rights activists, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) had apparently warned about the circus to both the New York officials and Taconic Investments, but to no avail. In response to this, Care2 has organised a petition urging both parties involved to boycott any support of Ringling's circus. The circus was exposed by Circuses.com as mistreating its animals, with issues ranging from inability to properly care for them to leaving them in chains up until the show actually begins. In a newsletter sent out to Care2 supporters, the petition urges the officials and Taconic to prevent the circus from setting up in the area on account of the circus' notoriety and widely-publicised animal abuse. "Baby elephants are ripped away from their mothers", states the newsletter, "and forced into a life of abuse and humiliation that is reinforced with bullhooks, whips and electric prods". It goes on to accuse the officials and Taconic as "[refusing] to sacrifice this money making opportunity for animal rights". The letter that is sent with the signature highlights the importance of animal rights, and how much Ringling's circus makes sure that the animals involved are "denied the fulfillment of all their natural instincts". "This outdated circus with its routine animal abuse is not welcome on Coney Island", it concludes. The message will be sent to Charles Bendit and Paul Pariser Taconic Investments' CEO and co-CEO respectively; as well as New York Citiy CEO George Fertitta, Brooklyn's Borough president Marty Markowitz, and New York City council member Domenic Recchia, Jr. So far, there has been an overwhelming response to the petition, securing over twenty thousand signatures towards its intended thirty-five thousand. If you are interested in signing the petition yourself, visit the official petition site.