Tag: Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus

Clyde-Beatty Cole Brothers Circus Stops Using Elephants

The Clyde-Beatty Cole Brothers Circus announced in April that it would no longer feature elephants in its traveling circus shows. It will, however, continue to rent out its two remaining elephants for television commercials and educational performances.

Cole Brothers Circus’ marketing director Bill Tebbetts told the Baltimore Sun that the decision to retire the elephant act was based solely on economics, noting it cost more than $60,000 per year to take care of each elephant on the road. According to Tebbetts,

Our business has been going down over the past few years, and we wanted to add some more flair to the show.

Humane Society of the United States’ Richard Farinato, however, chalked up the move to animal rights protests and pressure against the use of circus elephants. Farinato told the Baltimore Sun,

I do think what we’re seeing with the circuses is that they’re deciding that it’s not worth taking the heat. To change the way they’re doing business, they’ve realized they need to get elephants out of sight.

Source:

Big void under the big top. Molly Knight, Baltimore Sun, May 6, 2004.

Cole Drops Elephants. Press Release, I-SPEAK, April 2004.

Animal Rights Activist Sues Over Ejection/Arrest from Circus

Animal rights activist Rita Ross, 63, has filed a $3.5 million lawsuit after she was ejected from a New York performance of the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus.

Clyde Beatty representatives ended up calling the police to deal with Ross on July 12, 2002. She was arrested on charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and trespass. Ross is suing the circus and the private security firm at the mall where the circus performed.

Ross claims she was targeted because of her animal rights views. The New York Journal News excerpted part of her lawsuit that reads,

The defendants . . . determined among themselves that persons who harbored beliefs concerning certain deference and respect toward animals displayed and shown at the circus presentation of defendant Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus were to be deemed suspicious and must be excluded and removed from the property.

But according to Clyde Beatty-Cole vice president of administration Renee Story, the circus attempted to eject Ross only after she had repeatedly left her seat and rushed toward the animals to take photographs. The circus employees considered Ross’ behavior disruptive and potentially unsafe and, according to Story, “Several times she was escorted back to her seat.”

The New York Journal News reports that,

After the performance, Storey said, Ross screamed at staff members giving elephant rides and the patrons taking them.

Yeah, it sounds like Clyde Beatty-Cole employees didn’t have any good reason at all to call police to remove Ross from the premises.

Sources:

Putnam woman sues circus. Cara Matthews, New York Journal News, July 21, 2003.

Animal-rights activist sues circus over ejection. Associated Press, July 21, 2003.

PETA Celebrity Stefanie Powers a Hypocrite

The New York Post ran an excellent article pointing out the rank hypocrisy of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals supporter Stefanie Powers.

Powers recently wrote a letter to Southampton Town Supervisor Vincent Cannuscio asking Cannuscio to deny a permit for the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. circus. According to Powers, the metal bull hooks used to train the elephants are cruel.

Which is an interesting position, considering that Powers herself is a successful show horse jumper and is scheduled to compete in the Hamptons International Horse Show in August. As Neal Travis writes in the Post,

But hat she says about the alleged cruelty to elephants could be applied to the training of at least some show jumpers. Stories abound about horses being trained over jumps that have barbed wire atop them.

Then there’s the matter of spurs, commonly used in training and every bit as painful as the bull hooks that have Powers so upset. And they don’t whip elephants, do they?

Travis contacted a PETA spokeswoman who said, “I do not know anything about the horse show, so, therefore, I have no comment.” Imagine that — a PETA spokeswoman turning down a chance to decry the use of animals in entertainment! I guess the rules are different for PETA’s celebrity dupes.

Source:

Pachyderm Powers’ High Horse. Neal Travis, The New York Post, July 23, 2001.