Animal Awareness / Sterling & Reid Bros Circus Follow-Up

Campaigns

Animal Awareness organizes campaigns that aim to educate the public, businesses, and legislators about animal use and abuse issues as well as promote the many humane alternatives.

Circus Follow-Up Campaign: Sterling & Reid Bros

Animal Awareness has an ongoing follow-up campaign educating the Pimlico and Anne Arundel County communities about the fact that the Sterling & Reid Bros Circus (which came to their community last year) had two handlers arrested by the police for horrible acts of elephant beating, just two weeks after they came through Maryland. We have had volunteers handing out flyers door-to-door within the communities, but still have a few areas left to cover. The flyer has the newspaper clipping on it and information about contacting the venue to let them know that the community does not want circuses with animal acts to be invited back.

This is a great time to speak out since there was such horrible abuse seen by the police and written up in a respected newspaper. This type of mainstream coverage is something that the public will listen to more readily than when the information comes from an animal advocate leafleting on the street corner. Let's take advantage of this rare opportunity and keep the momentum up while it's here. You can see the full newspaper article.

The most effective letters are those that are polite, well thought out, and do not use overly emotional language in making the points. Let the facts speak for themselves. Using overly dramatic language may tend to turn off some readers. Plus it is not needed since the factual statements will make the case for you. Statements that are critical of the public are also counterproductive. Remember, you are trying to get people to read your views and consider them seriously. Your goal is not to criticize others; your goal should be to make the public aware about what the animals endure.

Opinion letters that come from you as an individual have a bit more leeway in expressing your concerns about the animal welfare points. Letters written representing an organization should be much more formal and technical in nature so as to be viewed as focused and rational about one's campaign.

Ways You Can Help:

Letters to the editor. Write letters to the editor of a community newspaper within those communities where Sterling & Reid Bros came to this past year. If you write a letter to the editor it will most likely be printed, especially in the smaller local newspapers. That means that tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people will potentially be made aware of the reality of what goes on behind the scenes at circuses. The letter that you write could talk about the abuse that animals endure during training, during transport, and throughout their lives. The letter to the editor could also encourage the community to write letters as well. Key points about circus animal abuse are below, for more details go to the Animal Awareness page about animals in entertainment.

Anne Arundel Community:
Letters to the Editor The Capital-Gazette P.O. Box 911 Annapolis, MD 21404 fax: 410-268-4643 capletts@capitalgazette.com	Letter Writing Policy: "The Capital welcomes your letters and will publish all that are not libelous or in poor taste. Because we wish to be fair to all our readers, we must ask them to limit themselves to one letter a month, of no more than 300 words. Please include your address and your daytime phone number so that your letter can be verified."
Pimlico Community:
Editor, c/o City Paper 812 Park Ave. Baltimore, MD 21201	You may also submit your letter using the online form: http://www.citypaper.com/current/contact.html
The Baltimore Chronicle	editor@baltimorechronicle.com
The Sentinel 30 West 25th St. Baltimore, MD 21218	410-243-4141 Editor: Larry Krause
The Baltimore Gay Paper P.O. Box 22575 Baltimore, MD 21203	410-837-7748 News Editor: Mike Chase, Editor@bgp.org

Write directly to the venue. Write letters (and encourage others to write letters) to the venue. Even if you wrote a letter last year, writing another one will remind them of this important issue. Most venues don't think twice about who they are hiring. Their motive is purely financial profit. Since it's the public that provides them with that profit, they need to hear from you that the public does not want abused wild or domestic animals to be a part of the entertainment that you would come to the venue to see.

Anne Arundel County Fair P.O. Box 372 Crownsville, MD 21032	aacofair@toad.net 410-923-3400, Rt. 178, Generals Hwy. (last year had Sterling & Reid Bros)
Pimlico Race Track 5201 Park Heights Ave. Baltimore, MD	info@marylandracing.com 410-542-9400 (last year had Sterling & Reid Bros)

Thank you for all that you do giving a voice to those who cannot speak up for themselves!

Some points to highlight when discussing why animals should not be used in animal acts:

Separation of families. Not only do these animals grow up and live without the bonds of their family, but they are also forced to live without the bonds of friendship. Due to their intense confinement and chaining, they are usually not able to have access to socialization. And, in the few times over their life that they are able to find companionship, it is not long-term since animals are bought and sold as deemed convenient to the circus. This is especially true since many circuses lease out their animals to other circuses.
Barbaric training methods used to break the spirits of wild animals and make them succumb to the trainers' commands. See www.circuswatch.com for undercover video of the training methods used to "break" an elephant. Animals are "taught" tricks through severe beating, use of bull hooks, and electric prods. They are even forced to defecate on command before a show so that they do not make a mess during the show, which might hinder the "enjoyment" for the spectators.
Extreme weather conditions and intense confinement during their constant transport from state to state.
Forced to live in their own excrement while chained and caged, which is only cleaned on the whim and convenience of the animal keeper.
Forced to only have food or water at the whim and convenience of the animal keeper.
Forced to wear humiliating costumes and perform unnatural tricks on a grueling and exhausting schedule.
Perpetuates the thought that animals are ours to use as we wish when the reality is, "The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for whites or women for men."
-- Alice Walker