When Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist Deborah Nelson investigated the Ringling Bros. circus, she researched Kenny, a young Asian elephant. Though Kenny was sick, his handlers forced him to perform in the three daily shows: morning, afternoon and evening. In the morning show, he had diarrhea. During the afternoon show, he began bleeding from his bottom; the bleeding worsened during the evening show. A few hours later, a circus employee found Kenny dead in his stall. The Department of Agriculture pressed charges and quickly reached a settlement with Feld Entertainment, the corporation that owns Ringling Bros: Feld Entertainment donated $20,000 to elephant-related charities, and the USDA lifted the charges for Kenny’s death. Though Kenny died in 1998, the Ringling Bros. circus continued to mistreat their animals, particularly their elephants. According to Nelson, who investigated the Ringling Bros. circus in 2011, “Ringling elephants spend most of their long lives either in chains or on trains…They are lame from balancing their 8,000-pound frames on tiny tubs and from being confined in cramped spaces, sometimes for days at a time. They are afflicted with tuberculosis and herpes, potentially deadly diseases rare in the wild and linked to captivity.” However, humans also suffer from the cruel treatment of elephants. In 1994, Tyke, an elephant who belonged to Circus International, made an attack; she injured more than twelve people and killed her trainer.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Oct 2013 04:20:52 +0000
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