The Green Party Animal Rights Committee applauds activists for decades of pressuring Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus to cease exploiting animals, resulting in the recent announcement that the circus will be shutting down in May. “This will be a welcome relief to the many hundreds of animals who have been stolen from the wild, imprisoned in cages, paraded in costumes, and trained to perform unnatural tricks for the purpose of amusing dwindling audiences,” said Mary Lawrence, co-chair of the GP Animal Rights Committee.

Kenneth Field, Chairman and CEO of parent company Field Entertainment, cited declining ticket sales, high operating costs, elimination of elephants from the touring circus, and an increasingly negative public sentiment about forcing captive wild animals to perform as entertainment as factors in the decision to cease.

Green Party Animal Rights Committee
https://www.facebook.com/GPAnimalRightsCommittee/

For immediate release
January 17, 2017

Contact:
Mary Lawrence, Green Party Animal Rights Committee Co-Chair, [email protected]
Craig Seeman, Green Party Animal Rights Committee Co-Chair, 718-456-0072, [email protected]

The Green Party Animal Rights Committee applauds activists for decades of pressuring Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus to cease exploiting animals, resulting in the recent announcement that the circus will be shutting down in May. “This will be a welcome relief to the many hundreds of animals who have been stolen from the wild, imprisoned in cages, paraded in costumes, and trained to perform unnatural tricks for the purpose of amusing dwindling audiences,” said Mary Lawrence, co-chair of the GP Animal Rights Committee.

Kenneth Field, Chairman and CEO of parent company Field Entertainment, cited declining ticket sales, high operating costs, elimination of elephants from the touring circus, and an increasingly negative public sentiment about forcing captive wild animals to perform as entertainment as factors in the decision to cease.

In a statement by Gary Payne, President of the Circus Fans Association of America (CFA), animal activists are criticized for their role in swaying public perception that contributed to this decision. “I urge my fellow citizens to understand that the lies and misinformation peddled by animal extremists, often with no critical questioning by the media, represent a dangerous intervention in our society. Those who would dictate what we choose to experience in entertainment, whose twisted agendas have had disturbing influence on the whole question of real animal welfare and conservation, will remain a severe threat to our freedoms after Ringling has passed into history.”

Lawrence disputes Payne’s characterizations. “Contrary to Payne’s claims of extremism, activists have served as a source of information, producing photographic evidence of animal abuse such as the use of bullhooks, whips and electric prods for training tools, chains and tethers to prevent freedom of movement, and video footage displaying repetitive motion behaviors that are indicative of emotional stress from confinement. While he contends that the circus supports education and conservation, a captive life in shackles is no life for a wild animal.”

The Green Party Animal Rights Committee is fundamentally opposed to the exploitation of animals for entertainment. We seek to prohibit the import and sale of all wild animals to circuses, prohibit the use of all wild animals in circuses, and mandate the re-homing of all existing circus animals to sanctuaries or other suitable establishments with relocation to the wild wherever possible.

As awareness of the inherent cruelty associated with animal captivity continues to grow, there will be increasing demand to address these ethical questions. Circuses, marine parks, zoos, and rodeos, once seen as wholesome family entertainment, are no longer acceptable. With the recent death of Tilikum, the Orca star of SeaWorld who became the subject of the poignant documentary “Blackfish,” this matter becomes more urgent.

GP Animal Rights Committee ally and Humane Party board member Jeff Rosenberg states, “Every victory for the animals builds upon the prior victories, and builds momentum for future victories. It will not happen overnight, but it will happen. Every major victory like this brings this greatest social justice movement of all time closer to fruition.”

"We have the power to set public policy by urging our legislators to ban circuses and wild animals used for entertainment in our states and local municipalities. In the United States, there are 63 partial or full bans on circus animals in municipalities and in 27 states. We must become active politically and hold our politicians accountable to protect humans as well as non-human animals in order to end this unnecessary suffering,” added Craig Seeman co-chair of the Green Party Animal Rights Committee.

See Also:

Green Party Platform Ethical Treatment of Animals
http://www.gp.org/ecological_sustainability_2016/#esEthical

Green Party Animal Rights Committee Position Paper
http://gpus.org/committees/animal-rights/animal-rights-committee-position-paper-1/