AR-News: Report Ringling for false ad claims

[Snugglezzz at aol.com]

Below is a list of Ringling's false ad claims from PETA:

According to Ringling's latest ad campaign, "All our newborns come with a
lifetime guarantee." The Ringling ad goes on to claim that its
captive-breeding program is somehow helping endangered Asian elephants.
Ringling must believe that there is a sucker born every minute because
PETA has evidence that the ads are pure fantasy. Government documents
show that Ringling's elephants suffer abuse and die prematurely, that the
circus has been cited for more than 100 deficiencies in animal care, and
that most of its elephants were captured in the wild. PETA is calling on
the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to yank the bogus ads.

False Claim #1: "All our newborns come with a lifetime guarantee."
Reality: Ringling forcibly removes still-nursing baby elephants from
their mothers, causing trauma, harm, and even death. This barbaric
practice has contributed to the deaths of two baby elephants and to the
painful injuries of two others.

•
Ringling paid $20,000 to settle U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
charges of failing to provide veterinary care to a dying baby elephant
named Kenny. Kenny was forced to perform despite obvious illness and was
found dead in his stall in a pool of bloody diarrhea.  • Benjamin drowned
while trying to escape the pokes and prods of a handler chasing him with
a bullhook. Even though elephants are excellent swimmers, Benjamin had
never had the opportunity to learn how to swim from his mother.  • When
taken from their mothers, Doc and Angelica suffered painful injuries as
they struggled in terror against ropes tightly binding their legs in a
futile attempt to rejoin their mothers. The ropes left raw wounds on
their legs.
Ringling trumpets the births of "15 bundles of joy" at its breeding
compound since 1992. In fact, four of the 15 births that Ringling is
taking credit for occurred at Busch Gardens, not Ringling's Elephant
Conservation Center, and belonged to an elephant trainer named Roman
Schmitt.

False Claim #2: "Endangered species? Not if we can help it."  Reality: At
least 17 of Ringling's elephants have died since 1992. Besides the fact
that Ringling's endangered Asian elephants are dying off faster than the
circus is breeding them, most of its elephants were actually captured in
the wild. Of the estimated 63 elephants currently used by Ringling, 44
were taken out of the wild in traumatic capture expeditions, and another
21 who died or were transferred to other facilities in recent years were
also taken directly from the wild and their families overseas.
Furthermore, none of Ringling's elephants have any hope of ever being
returned to the wild where Asian elephants are listed as endangered.
Ringling's captive breeding program is all about replenishing its supply
of tormented performers, not about helping elephants in their natural
habitats.

False Claim #3: "You've got to love them. Ringling Bros. and Barnum &
Bailey sure does. We live with them, care for them 
"  Reality: Elephants
in the wild spend most of their time foraging, roaming, and bathing. In
contrast, Ringling's elephants are packed tightly into hot, reeking
boxcars and shackled by four legs for long journeys across the country.
Between shows, the elephants remain shackled or confined to tiny pens.
Instead of tender, loving care, Ringling's trainers use sharp, metal
bullhooks and whips to punish elephants and make them perform physically
strenuous tricks.  Ringling's elephants have rarely, if ever, attained
their expected life span of 70 years. Of the 17 dead elephants PETA has
identified, at least eight never even reached the age of 45. Several
deaths were attributed to arthritis, a result of the unnatural and
difficult circus life. Ringling elephants as young as 16 have developed
this crippling condition.

False Claim #4: "We 
 share all we learn with the world."  Reality:
Ringling operates under a cloak of secrecy, denying access to training
sessions and withholding even the most basic information concerning its
elephants' names and premature deaths of its adult elephants. The circus
has also refused to cooperate with government investigations into
mistreatment. The USDA resorted to issuing a subpoena for documents
relating to the drowning death of Benjamin when the circus failed to turn
them over as required by federal law. Ringling personnel were belligerent
and uncooperative with USDA investigators questioning the raw wounds
found on baby elephants and were even reluctant to allow officials to
take pictures, forcing them to return the next day after the wounds had
been cleaned up.  What You Can Do Please write to FTC officials and ask
them to halt Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus' new ad, entitled
"All Our Newborns Come With a Lifetime Guarantee." The ad is designed to
dupe a trusting public that would be appalled if it knew how Ringling
obtains, trains, and treats the elephants it uses, including baby
elephants who have died needlessly at its hand. Contact:

Federal Trade Commission
CRC-240
600 Pennsylvania Ave.
N.W. Washington, DC 20580
1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357)

Please mention that the advertisement pertains to Ringling Bros. and
Barnum & Bailey Circus, owned by Feld Entertainment, 8607 Westwood Center
Dr. Vienna, VA 22182.